Russian officials say they will target Kyiv's bridges amid intensified strikes

Russia's chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces intend to strike strategic bridges in Kyiv, aiming to split the capital in two. The statement was made as Moscow intensified a campaign against Ukraine's energy facilities.

During a briefing at an auxiliary command post, President Vladimir Putin discussed operational priorities with defence officials. Kremlin representatives noted that about 10% of the Donetsk region and roughly 16.5% of the Zaporizhzhia region remain under Ukrainian control, while claiming full control of Luhansk.

Gerasimov reported that since September 1 Russian troops have captured more than 1,800 square kilometres and 92 settlements, and that a Ukrainian unit of about 2,000 fighters was destroyed in the Kharkiv area. He added that steel production in Ukraine has halted and operations at key Black Sea ports have ceased.

Putin emphasized the need to improve air-defence effectiveness and ordered continued large-scale strikes on Ukrainian facilities. "We will strike strategic bridges in Ukraine," Gerasimov said.

On October 14, 2026, Russia launched an overnight attack that involved 39 ballistic missiles and over 120 drones targeting Kyiv, the Kyiv region and Kharkiv. Ukrainian air defences shot down 115 drones and four missiles, but the assault damaged 26 power-grid sites and four oil-and-gas facilities, leaving at least 600,000 people without electricity. Monitoring channels reported a record use of roughly 25 Zircon hypersonic missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the operation as a deliberate strike on energy infrastructure that had been covered by a ceasefire, describing the scale of the attack as an open display of disrespect toward the United States.