Russia hits Kyiv with 135 drones overnight; Northern Bridge struck for second day running

Why it matters

The salvo was one of the largest single-night drone barrages of the war and hit the Northern Bridge for a second straight day, compounding the closure of the Southern Bridge and putting sustained pressure on Kyiv's main transport corridor across the Dnipro. Damage to a heating main and loss of hot water in the Desnianskyi district point to a campaign against civilian infrastructure ahead of winter. The strike landed on the day German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was in Kyiv pledging more air-defense aid, making the attack a direct backdrop to that diplomatic visit.

What happened

Russia launched 135 strike drones — including Shahed, Gerbera, and Banderol/Dan-T types, with 52 being jet-powered Shahed-type — from directions in Russia (Oryol, Kursk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk) and from occupied Donetsk and Crimea (Hvardiiske) overnight on October 3–4. As of 08:30, the Ukrainian Air Force said 123 drones had been shot down or suppressed, with two more Banderol/Dan-T drones intercepted, but hits were recorded at five locations and debris fell at another five.

In Kyiv, drone debris landed in two places in the Dnipro district — on the roof of a private house and on open ground near a road — without causing fires, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. A fire broke out on the grounds of a non-residential building in the Desnianskyi district. A Russian jet drone also hit the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge for the second consecutive day, damaging the road surface, and a strike in the Desnianskyi district damaged a heating main, temporarily cutting hot water to residents. Emergency services were dispatched to the bridge and rescue teams were working in the Desnianskyi district.

The attack came against the backdrop of strikes on October 1–2 that fully closed the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge, and an October 3 strike on the Northern Bridge that damaged the roadway and trolleybus contact network and injured two people. After the October 4 Northern Bridge hit, Kyiv rerouted trolleybuses Nos. 29, 30, 31, and 47 and buses Nos. 21, 73, 101, and 114 to Darnytsia Square, and shifted buses Nos. 22 and 91 between banks to the Darnytskyi Bridge. The attack coincided with a surprise visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who pledged further German air-defense assistance.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian coverage leads with operational detail from the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: drone types, launch directions, the 123-of-135 interception figure, and the count of hit and debris locations. Reports center on the consequences inside Kyiv, naming affected districts — Desnianskyi, Dnipro, Holosiivskyi, Darnytskyi — and detailing fires, debris damage, the heating-main hit, the loss of hot water, and the rerouting of public transport. Outlets highlight the second consecutive day of strikes on the Northern Bridge and the earlier closure of the Southern Bridge, framing the campaign as sustained pressure on Kyiv's infrastructure. They also place the attack in the context of Chancellor Merz's visit and his pledge of further air-defense assistance, and note the Russian Foreign Ministry's prior warning to foreigners to leave Ukraine.

How international sources describe it

The English-language coverage available frames the attack primarily through the Pivnichnyi Bridge hit and the coinciding German chancellor visit, foregrounding the diplomatic and infrastructure story rather than the full operational picture. It carries Russia's stated justification — that the bridges are used to transfer Ukrainian troops and military cargo — alongside Russia's warning to foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kyiv, giving the Russian framing alongside the Ukrainian context.

Where reporting differs

Sources differ on how many times air-raid alerts were declared in Kyiv during the night of October 3–4: some say twice, others three times. They also differ on the exact count of jet-powered Shahed-type drones among the 135 launched: most state 52, while one early Air Force figure cited 45.

Background

On October 1–2, Russian drones struck the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge in Kyiv multiple times, damaging the roadway, a support, crash barriers, and the metro's protective structure; the bridge has since been fully closed to vehicular and metro traffic. On October 3, a Russian drone first hit the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge, damaging the roadway and trolleybus contact network and injuring two people, with traffic on the bridge restricted. The Dnipro River is Kyiv's main east–west transport corridor, carrying road traffic, public transport, pedestrians, railways, and the metro. The New York Times previously reported on the Russian bridge campaign, warning of a potential 'logistical nightmare' for the capital if crossings are closed for prolonged periods.