The mayor of Kyiv has warned that intensified Russian drone and missile strikes are “tearing the city apart”, as Moscow continues to pound Ukraine’s capital with attacks on critical infrastructure.
Vitaliy Klitschko told a crisis meeting of Kyiv’s defence council on Friday that the city was in a “very dramatic situation”, with Russian forces battering “critical infrastructure, logistics, housing” and other essential facilities, according to BBC News.
The warning came just hours after the Pivdennyi (Southern) bridge, one of the main transport arteries connecting western and eastern parts of Kyiv across the Dnipro River, was hit in an overnight Russian drone attack. By Friday evening, the bridge had been struck again – the fourth time in two days.
All metro and automobile traffic has now been suspended across the bridge, causing severe delays throughout the city. Restrictions are also in place on Kyiv’s two other key bridges. The disruption is particularly significant for the capital’s estimated three million residents, many of whom depend heavily on the metro network.
Civilian casualties and infrastructure damage
One person was killed in the capital when a multi-storey residential building was hit overnight, Ukraine’s state emergencies service DSNS confirmed. Recent Russian strikes have also targeted the city’s data centres, resulting in internet outages.
“We’re talking about survival,” Klitschko told the meeting attended by Kyiv’s top military, security, emergencies and police officials. Russia’s aim, he said, was to “sow panic”, though he stressed that the capital would “prevail – but only through the joint efforts of those who love it and care for it”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin had decided in early September that “there are no rules now” when attacking Ukraine. In an interview excerpt published by the Financial Times, Zelensky said: “The Russians have failed to occupy us. So now they are carrying out massive attacks and mass killings.”
“They want to destroy our bridges… our data centres, the internet, mobile networks, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, universities – everything. They want people to flee their cities.”
Putin justifies attacks
President Vladimir Putin insisted that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian economic targets were a direct response to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries and ships in the Black Sea. Speaking after a speech at the Valdai foreign policy forum on Thursday, Putin said: “Now from every direction we’re receiving calls ‘let’s stop’. But they started it.”
Putin admitted Kyiv had “got some results” from its refinery attacks and that Russia had lost approximately 1% of its GDP. Ukraine maintains it began attacking Russian oil infrastructure because it helps the Kremlin finance the war.
Russia has systematically targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ramping up attacks every winter since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022.
What this means for Poles in the UK
The intensified Russian bombardment of Kyiv has direct implications for the large Ukrainian community now living in Britain, many of whom have family members still in the capital. Under the UK’s Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family Scheme, over 250,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK since 2022, with many maintaining close ties to relatives in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Poles in the UK – particularly those who have hosted Ukrainian families or work alongside Ukrainian refugees – should be aware that the deteriorating situation may affect their Ukrainian colleagues and friends. Communication difficulties caused by internet outages from data centre attacks may make it harder for Ukrainians in Britain to reach loved ones back home.
The UK government continues to provide visa extensions for Ukrainians unable to return home safely. Those with concerns about family members in Ukraine can find support through local councils and organisations such as the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. The Foreign Office regularly updates its travel advice for Ukraine on gov.uk.
