KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian attacks in Ukraine killed at least six people and damaged Kyiv’s Northern Bridge, suspending traffic and causing tailbacks for a third day in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the Ukrainian capital.
The strike came after two days of Russian assaults forced the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges over the Dnipro River. Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, gas stations and data centers, among other targets.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday it would continue to carry out “mass retaliatory strikes” on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, urging foreign nationals and diplomats to leave the country. It previously issued a similar warning in May.
Russia invaded its neighbor more than 4 ½ years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible. Fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months.
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the strike on the bridge damaged the road surface and trolleybus cables, forcing traffic to be suspended. He later said two people were wounded in the attack, one of whom was briefly hospitalized.