Russia's Defense Ministry has vowed to intensify attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities after a drone strike damaged the capital's Northern Bridge over the weekend. Moscow says the strikes answer Zelenskyy's pledge to escalate attacks on Russian oil refineries, even as Zelenskyy says Washington has proposed new trilateral peace talks by the end of October.
Russia's Defense Ministry pledged to further intensify military attacks on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities after strikes hit a second major bridge in the capital over the weekend. A Russian drone struck Kyiv's Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River on Saturday, damaging the road surface and forcing traffic to be suspended, with two people injured in the attack according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Bridge strike follows German aid pledge
The attack came shortly after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv to pledge 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, and after Russian drones repeatedly targeted Kyiv's Southern Bridge earlier in the week. Moscow's Defense Ministry confirmed the Northern Bridge attack in a Telegram update on Sunday, saying the bridge supports the transfer of troops and the logistics of military cargo.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters in comments published Saturday that Ukraine would double down on attacking Russian oil refineries in retaliation for a new Russian policy of airstrikes designed to force people to abandon Kyiv and other cities. Zelenskyy said Russian civilians would not be targeted in these strikes. In response, Russia's Defense Ministry said Zelenskyy "bears full personal and political responsibility" for the intensified strikes.
Trump administration proposes trilateral talks
The exchange unfolds as the war grinds into its fifth winter, with fighting along the frontline virtually deadlocked more than four-and-a-half years after Russia's full-scale invasion. Yet diplomacy has not stalled entirely. Zelenskyy said via social media on Sunday that the Trump administration has proposed a trilateral meeting at the technical level by the end of October, adding that Ukraine is open to the United Arab Emirates or another country proposed by the American side hosting the talks.
Zelenskyy said he expects the same proposal to reach Moscow, if it has not already, and that Kyiv would respond positively to negotiations. Trump has previously urged Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian oil refineries, saying the attacks are hurting the world as fuel disruptions prop up U.S. diesel prices.
Source: CNBC
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