Russian forces strike Kyiv's Northern Bridge as West weighs embassy relocation

In the early hours of Wednesday, Russian forces struck the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River in Kyiv with a jet-powered drone. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that the strike damaged the road surface and the trolleybus overhead power network, forcing traffic across the bridge to be halted. A yellow-level air raid alert had been declared in the capital shortly before the strike.

Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that the bridge is used for troop movement and logistics supporting military supplies for Ukraine's armed forces. On October 1 and 2, Russian forces had already struck Kyiv's Southern Bridge multiple times with drones, causing transport chaos in the capital.

Drone attack on Kaluga

Overnight into October 3, the Russian city of Kaluga came under drone attack, with apartment buildings damaged and several people injured, according to regional governor Vladislav Shapsha. He said 13 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the region overnight.

Western response

Amid the intensifying Russian strikes on Kyiv in recent days, Western nations are reportedly preparing plans to relocate their embassies from the Ukrainian capital to Lviv or Poland, British newspaper The Guardian reported. Sources cited by the paper said the situation is deteriorating rapidly. Publicly, however, Western diplomats maintain they intend to stay in Kyiv, noting that leaving would hand Moscow a propaganda victory and create the impression that Ukraine has been abandoned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times that the Kremlin has intensified air strikes to intimidate the civilian population, force residents to flee cities, and weaken the country's capacity to continue the war. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said foreign partners have not informed Ukraine of any intention to relocate their diplomatic missions from Kyiv.