Photo: depositphotos
Russia’s military continues to attack bridges across the Dnipro River in Kyiv. Although the structures have a safety margin, Russian attack drones equipped with specially designed shaped-charge warheads could sever suspension cables and destroy them, said Serhii Beskrestnov, a presidential adviser on defence technologies known by the callsign “Flash,” in comments to Telegraf.
In September, Russian forces used the same type of warhead to strike a high-voltage electricity pylon.
“If they target the suspension cables, they could destroy a bridge. For bridges supported by cable-stayed systems, that is their weak point,” Beskrestnov explained.
He said protecting the bridges requires preventing Russian kamikaze drones from reaching them in the first place.
Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat previously noted that bridges are difficult to destroy.
Russian forces have repeatedly attacked Kyiv’s Pivdennyi (Southern) and Pivnichnyi (Northern) bridges with ballistic missiles and drones. The first results of an inspection of the Southern Bridge were expected the day after the report, following a Russian missile strike on October 27.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that the city would allocate UAH 1 billion for a project to build combined water crossings over the Dnipro.
In an article titled “Will Kyiv’s Bridges Hold Up, or the Relationship Between the Authorities and Society,” Oleksandr Serhiienko, director of the City Institute, examines the bridges’ structural reserves, the rationale behind current restrictions and options for maintaining connections between the river’s two banks during attacks.
