Video: Russian drone strike sets Kyiv bridge ablaze as Merz arrives to sirens and explosions
A Russian drone struck Kyiv’s Pivnichnyi Bridge on Sunday as German chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in the Ukrainian capital. Merz’s arrival came amid air raid sirens, explosions and the activation of air defence systems, in the latest escalation of Russian attacks on the city.Video footage from Sunday morning showed the drone hitting the bridge, sending a large plume of fire and black smoke into the air while vehicles were still travelling across it. Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said two people were injured.Merz was visiting Kyiv to demonstrate support for President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian strikes intensified across the capital. “Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks,” Merz said.Zelensky, sharing footage of the bridge attack on X, said Russian forces had also targeted civilian and critical infrastructure elsewhere in Ukraine.“This morning, the Russians once again struck the Pivnichnyi Bridge in Kyiv with a drone. They attacked an ordinary pharmaceutical warehouse in Sumy with drones. Tragically, one person was killed. My condolences to the family and loved ones. In Dnipro, they struck a communications facility. Six people were injured as a result of these attacks.”According to Zelensky, Russia launched 135 attack drones overnight, more than 50 of them jet-powered, against several Ukrainian regions.“It is important that Ukraine is not left alone against this terror. This week alone, the Russians have used more than 1,900 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 25 missiles against Ukraine,” he said.The Pivnichnyi Bridge was hit for the second time in two days. On Thursday and Friday, Kyiv’s Pivdennyi, or Southern, Bridge was struck five times in less than 24 hours, according to Ukrainian officials.Russia on Sunday said it would intensify strikes on Ukraine after Zelenskyy vowed to step up attacks on Russian oil refineries. The Russian defence ministry said its forces would increase strikes on “military and military-industrial facilities, as well as related infrastructure” in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions.Ukrainian officials have said the Russian attacks could disrupt movement across the Dnipro River and effectively divide Kyiv. Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said the city planned to begin building alternative crossings if attacks on the bridges continued.Russia’s ministry of defence has said the bridge is used to transport Ukrainian troops and military supplies. On Saturday, it said Russian forces had also targeted a logistics centre in the Kyiv region.
