Photographs showing extensive damage to Kyiv’s Southern Bridge following a Russian missile strike have appeared online. Russian war correspondent Yuri Kotenok published an image taken from beneath the bridge on his Telegram channel.
The photograph shows damage consistent with a missile warhead detonating and penetrating part of the bridge structure.
There was initially confusion over which bridge appeared in the image. Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots later clarified that the photograph showed the Southern Bridge rather than the Northern Bridge.
Kots explained that the two bridges could be distinguished by the shape of the openings between their supports. The Northern Bridge has rounded openings, while those of the Southern Bridge have a pointed shape.
He also described extensive damage to the bridge’s central box structure, which supports the metro tracks above. According to Kots, the structure had been penetrated completely, with exposed reinforcing steel hanging from the damaged section and a large portion of the bottom concrete slab having collapsed.
Kots attributed the damage to a ballistic missile strike carried out overnight on October 27.
Separately, concerns have been raised about the condition of Kyiv’s Northern Bridge. The Russian Telegram channel Military Chronicle previously suggested that further Russian strikes could lead to the bridge’s complete destruction. The channel claimed that the accuracy of recent strikes indicated Russian forces had successfully adjusted their targeting of the bridge deck.
Russian military analyst Anatoly Matviychuk also warned that disabling the Northern Bridge could seriously disrupt Ukrainian military logistics. He argued that the bridge serves as an important route for transporting military supplies and that significant damage could complicate deliveries to Ukrainian forces.