Russian aerial attacks have forced the partial closure of three bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, causing traffic chaos KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian aerial attacks forced the partial closure Friday of three bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said, in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the city. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top diplomat said officials have received separate proposals for a partial truce with Russia from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt. The proposals envision halting attacks on energy infrastructure, which have caused fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine, and on Black Sea shipping needed to get vital grain exports to world markets.
The Russian strikes forcing the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges caused traffic logjams and appeared to be a new tactic in its campaign to torment the city’s residents. Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, gas stations and data centers, among other targets, in an escalation of attacks. The aerial war has intensified in recent months as fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine became virtually deadlocked.
Russia invaded its neighbor more than 4 ½ years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible. However, Ukraine has this year made some progress against Russia’s bigger army, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Russian forces lost control over almost 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) between March and September, the Washington-based think tank said in a report late Thursday.
Also, it said that the Russian military suffered over 46,000 casualties in September, the highest monthly number this year. It did not say how many Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded. Russia fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight, striking Kyiv and eight other regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Almost half of the drones were the jet-powered type that are especially hard to stop, he said. A drone hit a high-rise apartment block in Kyiv, killing one person, he said. At least four people were reported wounded elsewhere.
Zelenskyy repeated his appeal for foreign countries to close loopholes in international sanctions on Russia and to add more restrictions on its trade. He said Russia's drones and missiles are “critically dependent” on foreign components. Ukraine has also bombarded Russia with the long-range drones and missiles it now produces, aiming at military manufacturing plants and oil refineries.
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