Massive strike on Kyiv: bridge and energy facilities destroyed, days before talks in Abu Dhabi

Overnight strike on Kyiv and the region

Russia and Ukraine traded accusations on Saturday after overnight attacks that hit Kyiv and its surroundings. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported damage to residential buildings, a kindergarten and a non-residential building in the capital's Solomianskyi district, as well as destruction in the Dniprovskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city was attacked with ballistic missiles targeting infrastructure, and reported damage to energy facilities in Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said one person was killed in the region, where the strike hit five districts.

What Moscow confirmed

Russia's defence ministry confirmed carrying out a 'massive' strike on Kyiv, saying the targets were military-industrial, energy and transport infrastructure facilities, including the Northern (Pivnichnyi) bridge. According to DW, citing the Russian defence ministry, also hit were the Meridian plant, which Moscow claims produces Flamingo cruise missiles, a substation in Zhytomyr region and a cargo ship in the Black Sea; Moscow claims the bridge was used to transport weapons. Klitschko confirmed the bridge was damaged and that traffic across it was closed while the damage was being assessed. As Anadolu notes, both sides deny deliberately striking civilian infrastructure, and independent verification of the claims is difficult in wartime.

Casualties and the power grid

Casualty figures differ between sources: DW, citing Ukrainian authorities, reports one person killed and eight wounded, while the State Emergency Service, according to Anadolu, initially spoke of three and then six injured in Kyiv itself. Klitschko described the capital's power supply situation as 'extremely difficult': the strikes affected heating and water supply, and overnight temperatures dropped to 0 °C. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 149 of 172 drones and four ballistic missiles; President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that Russia used 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles, and said Moscow is trying to 'plunge Kyiv and the entire country into a blackout'. The day before the strike, Zelensky said intelligence had reported Russian plans to hit the energy sector, bridges across the Dnipro and civilian infrastructure, and urged partners not to delay deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles.

Strike on the eve of talks

The attack came days before the fourth round of trilateral talks between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington in Abu Dhabi; previous rounds, as DW notes, produced no breakthrough, and territorial issues and security remain the main points of disagreement. On Friday, Donald Trump said the war may be close to a settlement and that he envisions a 'big, beautiful deal' with Moscow involving 'all of Europe'. DW also recalls the context: last week, a six-day local ceasefire in occupied Oleshky, arranged with mediation by Melania Trump, allowed the evacuation of about 800 residents, and in recent months Russia has been escalating strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and cities, and recently on bridges as well.