Intensified Russian strikes are tearing Kyiv apart, warns mayor

Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said Russia’s drone and missile campaign is 'tearing Kyiv apart' and has pushed the city into a 'dramatic situation' as Moscow attacks critical infrastructure, logistics, housing and other key facilities.

The comment followed a crisis meeting of Kyiv’s defence council after the Russian strike that damaged Kyiv’s vital Pivdennyi bridge, which also caused major traffic chaos. Data‑centre outages have taken the city offline, downgrading internet access for millions.

Putin has defended Russia’s actions as a response to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy facilities, although Kyiv maintains that Moscow was the first to launch attacks on its infrastructure.

Klitschko emphasised that 'survival' is at stake and urged citizens who love the city to unite against the 'panic' the Russians aim to sow.

The Pivdennyi bridge, one of the main transport arteries across the Dnipro River, was struck again overnight – the fourth time in two days – leading to the suspension of all metro and automobile traffic across the bridge and across Kyiv’s other main bridges.

One resident lost his life when a multi‑storey residential building was hit during the overnight attack, according to Ukraine’s state emergencies service DSNS.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russians had decided that 'there are no rules' when attacking Ukraine, calling their attacks on bridges, data centres, hospitals, kindergartens and schools a deliberate campaign to force people to flee.

Putin, in a speech at the Valdai forum, acknowledged that Kyiv had achieved results from its refinery attacks but insisted that Russia had lost only about 1 % of its GDP as a consequence.

Since the full‑scale invasion began in 2022, Russia has consistently targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ramping up attacks every winter.