Russian strikes disrupt Kyiv bridges

Russian airstrikes forced the temporary closure of two bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv on Friday, disrupt-ing traffic between the two sides of the Ukrainian capital as Moscow stepped up its bombardment of infra-structure ahead of winter.

Long traffic jams formed during the morning after Russian drones struck the Southern Bridge several times on Thursday. Video footage posted online showed residents walking across the bridge, which had been closed to cars and metro trains following the attacks.

Russian drones also struck a school, although pupils were unharmed because they were sheltering at the time, officials said. Traffic on the Southern Bridge and part of the Paton Bridge was halted on Friday morning, while another bridge was partially closed.

Movement across the bridges was restored by around midday, Reuters witnesses said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said he had convened a city security council meeting to assess the risks, describing the situation in the capital as "very dramatic".

More than a third of Kyiv's three million residents lived on the eastern, or left, bank of the Dnipro before Russia's 2022 invasion, according to city authorities. But only 18% of jobs were located there, with most residents work-ing on the western bank, home to government institutions and companies.

Separately, a Russian drone strike killed one person and injured two others in Kyiv on Friday after a fire broke out on the upper floors of an apartment building, officials said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, two people were killed and 28 wounded in a guided-bomb strike, according to the regional governor.