Russian forces may be testing specialized warheads designed to damage bridge structures, with more powerful versions potentially under development, according to military analyst Valery Shiryaev.

Shiryaev suggested that recent strikes targeting power lines and the suspension cables of Kiev’s Southern Bridge were part of an effort to evaluate a new type of munition carried by Geran drones.

According to his assessment, the initial tests revealed significant limitations in the weapon’s destructive power, particularly against the structural components of cable-stayed bridges.

The analyst described the munition as using a specialized shaped-charge effect that produces a directed cutting flow rather than a conventional concentrated jet.

He claimed that this type of warhead can sever thick electrical cables and cited an earlier incident in which a power transmission tower collapsed following a strike.

However, Shiryaev said photographs taken after the attack on the Southern Bridge indicated that its supporting cables had sustained only limited damage and remained intact.

He interpreted the results as evidence that the warhead used in the strike was not powerful enough to cause serious damage to the bridge’s load-bearing elements.

Shiryaev speculated that Russian weapons developers could now be working on more powerful shaped-charge warheads for relatively inexpensive cruise missiles, potentially expanding their ability to damage bridge infrastructure.

He did not provide independently verified information confirming that such development work is currently underway.

The analyst also discussed the vulnerability of cable-stayed bridges to structural damage. Citing information he attributed to bridge engineering specialists, he argued that damage to a limited number of supporting cables could create sufficient safety concerns to force a suspension of traffic without causing the entire structure to collapse.

His assessment suggests that future weapons development could focus on disabling bridge operations through structural damage rather than completely destroyin