Putin turns Kyiv into a kill zone, Ukraine unable to stop Russia's jet drones | GRAVITAS
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Putin turns Kyiv into a kill zone, Ukraine unable to stop Russia's jet drones | GRAVITAS")
Smoke rises over a bridge spanning the Dnieper River following a drone attack in Kyiv on October 2, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: (AFP)
Russia targets Kyiv's key bridges and intensifies jet-powered drone attacks as Ukraine reports strikes across the country and Germany announces new support.
In a fresh escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war, bridges have become major targets...
For four days in a row, Russia has attacked Kyiv's two key bridges, aiming to paralyse the Ukrainian capital, as they connect the western and eastern parts of the city.
Just a short while ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of attacking a civilian vessel in the Black Sea, with Indian nationals aboard. According to him, the ship's captain was killed in the strike. However, Romania, which rescued 11 crew members aboard this ship, reported two fatalities...
Now, take a look at this footage...
Visuals showed cars moving on Kyiv's northern bridge, as a drone crashed into it, before exploding, creating a ball of fire. A cloud of smoke could be seen rising above the bridge.
This was the second attack on this bridge, in as many days...
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Two people were injured in this Russian drone strike, which took place even as German President Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit.
According to Zelensky, this was an attempt by Russia to force civilian evacuations from big cities.
On its part, Russia vowed to step up its attacks on military and related infrastructure targets in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, in response to Zelensky's recent comments about intensifying strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Ukraine also accused Russia of conducting missile strikes on Kharkiv overnight, killing one person and injuring six others. Visuals showed firefighters battling a blaze, as vehicles as well as multiple buildings were damaged.
According to Odesa's governor, Russian air strikes also targeted industrial and port infrastructure in the region, causing fires.
Additionally, Moscow struck two Ukrainian cargo vessels in the Black Sea....
Now, Kyiv's southern bridge was targeted for the first time on October 1. Visuals showed the moment when an explosion struck this bridge, and a column of smoke start rising.
A day later, Russia again struck this bridge. Take a look at this image, of a jet-powered drone striking the bridge....
The relentless Russian attacks have forced temporary closure of key bridges in Kyiv, thereby leading to traffic chaos...
This comes amid a surge in Russia's use of jet-powered drones.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson, Russian forces fired over three thousand one hundred seventy-seven jet-powered drones, in September alone.
With the advanced variant of these drones having a speed of 600 kilometres per hour, and the ability to strike targets from 950 kilometres away, they are much harder to intercept.
Apart from the speed, there might be another reason for this.
According to a Ukrainian official, Russia might have hidden small signal boosters or repeaters, to help its long-range drones evade air defences and strike with greater precision.
These are essentially small concealed radio relay devices that receive and transmit encrypted signals across multiple connections.
This helps extend the range of drone operators, while maintaining control in areas whereas GPS signals may be disrupted.
Thus, it is harder for Ukraine to disrupt these drones through electronic jamming.
Last week, Zelensky himself admitted that Ukraine was able to intercept only 57% of Russia's jet-powered drones.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Germany signed 15 agreements, worth over 1.46 billion dollars, during Merz's visit to Kyiv.
In a boost for Ukraine, Germany's package focuses on air defence capabilities, including joint production of interceptors against jet-powered drones.
Berlin will also provide long-range weapons, satellite technology and combat drones to Kyiv.
On this occasion, Zelensky also expressed willingness to hold trilateral talks with Russia and U.S. this month in UAE or any other country proposed by America.
Meanwhile, Russia declined to comment on a New York Times report which claimed that a multi-billion dollar oil deal was a part of Washington's talks with Moscow on ending the war in Ukraine...
With Moscow once again asking foreign nationals including diplomats to leave Kyiv, it is amply clear that we are entering a dangerous phase in the Ukraine war.