Later in the morning, two drones hit the Pivdenny bridge, one hitting the base of a central stanchion.
Ukrainian 5 Kanal TV reporter Mariana Mykytenko described how one of the passengers on her metro train shouted the word “Shahed”, referring to Russia’s Iranian-designed drones, before the blast sent dust pouring into their carriage.
No-one in her compartment was hurt, she said, and “the train took people to Vydubychi station on the right bank, then it didn’t go any further”. The right bank is on the west side of the Dnipro river.
Metro trains were suspended but road traffic was eventually allowed to resume.
It is not yet clear what kind of drone was used in the Kyiv bridge attack, but Ukrainian officials say a new design of Russia’s jet-powered drones came into operation for the first time on Wednesday.
The drone has a 40kg warhead and is especially designed to destroy high-voltage electricity pylons and iron bridge structures, according to Zelensky’s technology adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov, also known as Flash.
In recent weeks, Russia has had considerable success with jet-powered drones and Ukrainian air force officials say that, during September, at least 3,177 were launched. Their high speed has caused problems for Ukraine’s beleaguered air defences.
Kyiv’s Institute of Nuclear Research came under drone attack on Wednesday night and, earlier in the week, one person was killed when a drone targeted the National Academy of Sciences.
