[IntelliNews] Nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation in Russia's Irkutsk region after a worker at the regional anti-plague institute reportedly died of plague, The Moscow Times reported on October 2. The outlet said Irkutsk officials had described the illness only as a “particularly dangerous infection”; Buryatia’s leader confirmed the death but did not specify the form of plague.
The woman, identified by other media as Daria Sh. and aged 27 or 28, reportedly told medical staff she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples. She was hospitalised in Shelekhov on September 29 with severe pneumonia, placed on a ventilator and died on October 1, according to reports cited by The Moscow Times. Those reports described the suspected infection as pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets. Don't know the gestation period, but 2 days to DRT is pretty special.
At least 197 people who may have had contact with her were reportedly placed under medical isolation, including more than 100 in hospital wards. “All identified contact persons have been placed under medical observation. As of today, the contacts show no signs of illness, and their laboratory test results are negative,” Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said on Friday, according to The Moscow Times.
Deputy Kanokov proposed measures to combat bears' approaching humans.
[Regnum] Bears have begun to frequent populated areas in Russia, and this problem needs to be addressed systematically. Timur Kanokov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, announced this on October 3.
Deputy Kanokov proposed measures to combat bears' approaching humans.
He noted that consideration should be given to the mandatory installation of special lockable containers with lids at tourist campsites and recreation areas in bear habitats. Regional authorities and Rosprirodnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage) should be involved in this matter.
In addition, the deputy proposed developing uniform federal recommendations for tourists traveling to animal habitats.
"The tourism industry must be involved in this work: tour operators and guides are required to immediately report encounters with predators to the appropriate authorities and suspend travel along the route until the threat is eliminated," he added in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
According to the deputy, special attention must be paid to waste management along tourist routes and stops.
Bear attacks on people have become more frequent in various regions of the country. On September 26, a bear attacked two men in Buryatia. They were hospitalized at a Ulan-Ude medical facility. Doctors are assessing their condition as moderate.
On September 25, in the village of Markovo, Chukotka, a bear attacked a man returning from fishing. It happened near the village bathhouse. The bear attacked him from behind and stole his catch. The man survived, but had to be hospitalized.
On October 1, Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev announced that 342 aggressive bears had been killed in the region. According to the governor, 142 groups of game managers, rangers, and experienced hunters have been formed in the region. Every day, 12-15 bears are killed in the region, which is almost five times more than last year.
More from regnum.ru A can of lingonberries saved a man from a bear in Transbaikalia.
A resident of the Zabaikalsky Krai went into the forest to pick lingonberries when he was confronted by a bear. The dangerous predator was distracted by a can of berries, allowing Vladimir to escape.
The man lives in one of the villages of the Chita region in close proximity to the forest.
"I was picking lingonberries with a bear once. At first, I thought a cow or deer had approached, but when the dogs became agitated, I realized something was wrong," a local resident told RIA Novosti.
According to him, he tried to carefully move away from the predator, after which he grabbed a pole, hit the pine tree with it and screamed.
“Then he started running, dropping his windbreaker and a five-liter can of berries,” the agency’s source added.
Not a sealed can, but the metal pail in which he collected his berries. Tanslations can be such fun!.
Vladimir ran to the road, where he met hunters.
"One of them ran with a gun to the clearing where the bear was and fired once. Then he brought back my windbreaker, torn to shreds, and a crushed can," the villager concluded.
According to the man, it was the collected lingonberries that attracted the predator and forced it to stop pursuing him.
Previously, in a national park in the Southern Urals, tourists spent an hour and a half fighting off a bear with songs and shouts. The animal was approximately 150 meters from the group, so the group climbed a slope of large rocks and began singing loudly to keep the animal from getting any closer. They also contacted emergency services. Everything ended well.
Even more from regnum.ru More than 330 aggressive bears have been eliminated in Buryatia.
In Buryatia, specialists have eliminated more than 330 bears that had wandered near populated areas and posed a threat to the population. This was reported on October 3 by the Buryatia Regional Nature Management Authority.
They clarified that 81 hunters were involved in protecting settlements in Buryatia from bears.
"To date, 331 bears have been controlled for posing a threat to human life and health," the agency wrote in MAX.
That’s a lot of meat, fat, and bearskin rugs…
The department noted that they receive approximately 15-20 reports of predator encounters per day. All reports are processed promptly. Cases of predator encounters have been recorded in the Khalzan area of the Zakamensky District, near the villages of Tokhoy in the Selenginsky District, Ara-Kiret in the Bichursky District, and Goryachinsk and Gremyachinsk in the Pribaikalsky District. The highest number of bear encounters with people have been recorded in the Kabansky District.
Bear attacks on people have become more frequent in various regions of the country. On September 26, a bear attacked two men in Buryatia. The men were hospitalized at a Ulan-Ude medical facility. Doctors are assessing their condition as moderate.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 15.00 Russian aggressors attacked a private ship in one of the ports of the Odessa region. One crew member died, three were injured. The Administration of Seaports of Ukraine (USPA) reported this on Facebook.
14.42 In Kiev, under the hour of renewed alarm, there are different rules for the flow of transport on bridges across the Dnieper. The Kiev Municipal Military Administration (KMVA) reported this on Telegram.
14.21 Kiev may be using Russian Mesh relays to provide strikers with a short-line communication channel to coordinate strikes on targets. The president’s adviser, Sergey “Flash” Beskrestnov, spoke about this on Telegram.
13.28 Near Kiev, two people were injured as a result of a Russian drone strike on the Pivnichny Bridge. The head of the city, Vitaliy Klitschko, told us about this on Telegram.
It also became clear that the contact line on the Pivnichny Bridge had already become damaged. The movement of trolleybuses has been updated.
13.04 In Kazakhstan, behind the Russian side, they shadowed the Ukrainian giant Lyubov Rozhanska. About this, having informed the Supreme Court for the sake of human rights, Dmytro Lubinets on Telegram.
For this reason, Rozhanska arrived in Kazakhstan on humanitarian grounds - to pick up her minor son and return him to Ukraine. Natomist itself fell asleep under the law through criminal law, as Russia has destroyed 2023 more people.
12.40 Between the repatriation visits to Ukraine, over 26 thousand bodies and remains were turned over, the remaining significant part of the total remains unidentified. Kirilo Budanov told the Office of the President about this in advance on Telegram.
12.15 In the Izyum Kharkiv region, five people were injured as a result of attacks by Russian drones. The Miska Military Administration (MVA) informed us about this. Incidents were recorded at warehouse premises, businesses and private households. She burned herself down.
11.19 The defense forces of Ukraine hit low important military targets of the Russian occupiers on April 1-2. The ZSU General Staff provided details .
10.36 In the Poltava region, time-hour restrictions have been ordered for the relocation of the civilian population in the surrounding villages of the Kremenchutsk region in connection with the conduct of non-peck visits. Vitaly Dyakivnych, a resident of the Poltava State University, told Telegram about this.
10.07 Russian ruler Volodymyr Putin stated that over 1 thousand were buried near the spring of the Russian Federation. sq. km of Ukrainian territory, but there are real data to testify about something else . The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) knows about this.
9.20 On Saturday, Russia launched 157 attack UAVs (45 of them jet-propelled) of various types across Ukraine. Most of the enemy's targets were seized by the PPO squadrons, and the ZSU forces were informed by the Ukrainian forces.
9.00 Rushing of several bus routes near Kiev, changes earlier due to the Russian attack on the Pivnichny place, updated according to regular patterns, prote transport runs through traffic jams. The Kiev Municipal Administration (KMDA) reported this.
8.43 Near the village of Gostomel in the Kiev region, as a result of the Russian attack, four people were injured, among them a child. DSNS informed about this.
8.25 Last battle, 194 battles were recorded at the front. I informed the General Staff of the ZSU about this in the operational level. Defense forces hit a UAV control point, a gathering place for enemy assault groups, a logistics facility, and an enemy control point.
7.39 Over the past year, the occupation army of Russia has lost 1,710 military servicemen killed and wounded on the front in Ukraine. About this, having informed the ZSU General Staff in an operational alert on Saturday. The Ukrainian military acquired over 2,100 units of Russian equipment, including 45 units and three RSZVs.
7.22 Russian fire fighters first hit a drone on the Pivnichny Bridge in Kiev. Vitaliy Klitschko announced this action in Telegram. On the Poshkodzhene Bridge there is a road surface and a contact trolleybus track. The river from the left to the right bank was immediately blocked.
6.41 A series of intense vibrations occurred in the occupied Donetsk on the night before the 3rd. In various areas of the city they reported about the work of the Russian PPO, and after that there was an electricity shortage. The partisan movement ATESH reports about this on Telegram.
4.58 The command of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, following data from the partisans, transferred units to advanced combat readiness. The Russians are afraid of large-scale attacks ahead of the attack on the Crimean Bridge on June 8, reports the partisan movement Atesh.
3.48 Foreign partners did not inform Ukraine about plans to move their diplomatic representatives from Kiev. Georgiy Tikhy, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated this, reports LIGA.net.
2.38 Russian troops attacked a fire-fighting drone near the Zaporizhzhya region with a drone. As a result, the warrior suffered. The DSNS of Ukraine informs about this on Telegram.
1.58 The French vinischuvach Mirage 2000-5F at the warehouse of the Air Force ZSU, for the first time in history, having captured the Russian missile S8000 Parcel on fire from the air force. This is reported by the Militarny and the French project French Aid to Europe, which provides military assistance to France.
0.40 Russia again attacked the Dnieper on June 2, and there was a fire at the site. Ulamki fell into the parking lot for the sake of tribute to the victims. The Dnieper mayor, Boris Filatov, told us about this.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 20:20 During the day from 8:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 244 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type were over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Smolensk, Tula regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Crimea, the Krasnodar Territory and over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. 19:47 Detonation of a Ukrainian Armed Forces FPV drone in the Belgorod region an 11-year-old boy was wounded - operational headquarters
19:37 Khar'kov direction successes of the Russian Armed Forces. October 3
In the Khar'kov region, Russian Armed Forces have taken control of Grachevka and Serdobino. The enemy continues to concentrate in Reznikovo. Meanwhile, the elimination of enemy units is also underway outside the "Vovchansk pocket."
The garrison in Reznikovo is losing cover from the south. On the outer ring, fighting is underway for Prikolotnoye, a village at the intersection of roads T-2104 and T-2115, 12 kilometers south of Serdobino.
19:00 Artillerymen of the Vostok group fired from 122mm D-30 guns burn out enemy UAV strongholds and control points in the Zaporizhzhia region.
18:16 Investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee will investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces against civilians in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, as well as the DPR
According to the Belgorod Region operational headquarters, a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone attacked a vehicle in the city of Shebekino, injuring one person.
According to executive authorities, a local resident was injured as a result of a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building in the Klimovsky district of the Bryansk region.
A woman was also injured as a result of an attack by an Armed Forces UAV in the Nikitovsky district of the city of Gorlovka in the DPR.
17:33 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to strike at sea vessels used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This afternoon, a dry cargo ship carrying military equipment to Ukraine was hit by a drone strike in the port of Odessa.
16:44 Drone crews of the 51st Army of the Center group shot downa group of enemy hexacopters in the Dobropillya direction.
16:20 The Investigative Committee of Russia will investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces against civilians in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Belgorod and Zaporizhia Oblasts
According to executive authorities, two people were killed and three others were wounded as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attacks on civilian targets in the LPR.
A civilian was injured in a drone attack in the Nikitovsky district of Horlivka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). A Ukrainian drone attack in the Kyivsky district of Donetsk injured three people.
As a result of aggressive actions by representatives of the Kyiv regime in the Zaporizhzhia region, one person was killed and six civilians were injured.
According to the Belgorod Region task force, a man was killed in a drone explosion on a residential property in the Graivoron District. Two people were injured in a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone attack on a car in the city of Graivoron.
15:37 The Investigative Committee of Russia will investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces against civilians in the Donetsk People's Republic, Belgorod and Bryansk regions
According to the Belgorod Region task force, an FPV drone attacked a car in the village of Stepnoye, Krasnoyarsk District, killing one person. A man was injured when a drone struck a truck in the city of Shebekino.
According to local authorities, eight employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations were injured in a second attack by Ukrainian drones in the city of Donetsk, DPR.
Two civilians were injured in strikes by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones in the Novozybkov urban district and Klimovsky district of the Bryansk region.
15:01 Severyan FPV crews destroy Ukrainian Armed Forces ground robots in Sumy Oblast. Footage shows a precise hit on the NRTK by Akhmat special forces and the 123rd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Sever group.video.
14:20 In the Sumy region, as part of counter-battery operations opened up o an enemy firing position of a 120mm mortar crew. The first FPV strike destroyed the mortar itself.
13:58 Aviation of the 18th Combined Arms Army inflicted an attack on a Ukrainian Armed Forces position on the right bank of the Dnieper
"The object was used to control UAVs and carry out attacks on the eastern flank of Aleshki," the statement said.
13:07 Over the past 24 hours, the DPR has suffered from the actions of the Ukrainian military wounding 15 civilians, including 8 EMERCOM rescuers.
12:12 Summary of the Ministry of Defense on the progress of the Special Military Operation as of October 3, 2026
Units of the North group of forces are tightening the encirclement of Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the northeast of the Khar'kov region and expanding the external control zone.
Within the encirclement, fighting is underway to liberate the villages of Varvarovka, Lobanovka, and Reznikovo in the Khar'kov region. Additionally, enemy forces are being destroyed in the areas of the villages of Nikolaevka, Nefedovka, Kupino, and Chernoye in the Khar'kov region.
Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 35 service members and an armored combat vehicle within 24 hours while encircled. As the external control zone expands, active fighting continues to liberate the villages of Prikolotne and Sosnovy Bor in the Khar'kov region. Enemy strongholds in the villages of Khatnee and Fedorovka in the Khar'kov region are being targeted.
The manpower and equipment of the motorized infantry and mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Guard brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Slatino, Sosnovka, Velykyi Burluk, Metallivka, Russkie Tishki and Bezruki in the Khar'kov region.
In the Sumy region, fire damage was inflicted on formations of two airmobile brigades, two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two territorial defense brigades, and a National Guard regiment in the areas of the settlements of Doroshovka, Rudnevka, Khoten, Ivolzhanske, Nikolske, Bititsa, and Lipnyak in the Sumy region.
In total, in the area of responsibility of the North group of forces, the enemy lost over 250 servicemen, five combat armored vehicles, 19 cars and two electronic warfare stations.
Units of the "West" force grouping improved their position along the forward edge. They defeated the personnel and equipment of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade near the villages of Sobolevka, Chervony Oskol, Grushevka, and Andriivka in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 220 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, and 14 cars.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces occupied more advantageous positions and lines. They defeated formations of the mechanized, airmobile, and motorized infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as the territorial defense brigade, near the settlements of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Vasilevskaya Pustosh, and Nikolaevka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost over 195 soldiers, 18 vehicles and a Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery unit.
Units of the Center Group of Forces improved their tactical position. They defeated the personnel and equipment of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and two National Guard brigades near the settlements of Svyatogorovka, Belozerske, Verovka, Blagodat, Druzhkovka, and Rohanske in the Donetsk People's Republic.
In the village of Dobropillya in the Donetsk People's Republic, assault groups of the 51st Army, together with units of naval infantry, launched an offensive in the northwestern, eastern and central parts of the city.
Units of the 76th Airborne Assault Division, advancing west of the village of Dobropillya in the Donetsk People's Republic, destroyed an enemy position and captured a section of forest belt. Within 24 hours, 70 buildings were liberated, and more than 20 Ukrainian Armed Forces militants were killed.
In total, in the area of responsibility of the Center group of forces, the losses of Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 385 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, seven cars, a 155mm self-propelled artillery unit "Bogdana" and three electronic warfare stations.
Units of the "East" force group advanced deep into the enemy's defenses. They defeated the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' assault and airborne assault brigades, assault regiment, and naval infantry brigade near the settlements of Myrolyubovka, Kolomiytsy, and Ivanovka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Kirovo in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 240 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles and four cars.
Units of the Dnipro Forces Group occupied more advantageous positions and lines. They defeated formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' mechanized and mountain assault brigades near the villages of Orekhov, Veselyanka, and Kushugum in the Zaporizhzhia region.
More than 35 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen and 12 vehicles were destroyed.
11:52 Units of the North group of forces installed control over the village of Novaya Kazachya in the Khar'kov region.
10:03 Civilian wounded as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian UAV on Dnepryany
"An administrative building and a residential building were damaged ," said Vladimir Oganesov, acting head of the Novaya Kakhovka District.
9:34 The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to strike civilians infrastructure on the left bank of the Kherson region Yesterday afternoon, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired 13 shells from barrel artillery at populated areas of the Kherson region of the Russian Federation:
Throughout the night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued their artillery bombardment of the Kherson region, firing a total of 12 shells from cannon artillery. The following villages were targeted: Velyka Lepetykha, Hola Prystan, Nova Kakhovka, and Nova Mayachka .
9:16 Special forces of the "West" group destroyed an Italian-made Puma armored personnel carrier near the eastern shore of the Krasnooskol Reservoir.
8:43 During the past night, in the period from 20:00 Moscow time on October 2 to 8:00 Moscow time on October 3, air defense duty forces intercepted and destroyed 218 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type over the territories of the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tula regions, the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Crimea and over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas.
8:27 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to strike Ukrainian infrastructure facilities and sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Tonight, the following were hit by drone strikes:
- in the city of Kyiv - the Northern Motor Transport Bridge across the Dnieper River, which ensures the transfer of troops and logistics for the delivery of military cargo in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- in the Kyiv region - the Gostomel logistics center, on the territory of which the storage of material resources used to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine is carried out.
In addition, a dry cargo ship was hit while transiting by sea in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, delivering dual-use cargo to the port of Odessa to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
6:43 Calculation of the 152mm Giatsint-B of the Novorossiysk paratroopers worked against warehouses and enemy drone control points in the Orekhovo direction.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Ukraine may be held accountable before the International Court of Justice for unsubstantiated accusations against Russia regarding the events in Bucha. This was stated on October 3 by Alexandre Guerreiro, a Doctor of Law and Portuguese expert at the International Fact-Checking Association (GFCN).
In a comment to the TASS news agency, the expert emphasized that the memorial to the allegedly dead civilians and the narrative surrounding the April 2022 incident were actively used to level accusations against Russia, which contributed to the escalation of global tensions.
According to him, the data claimed by Kiev regarding the alleged 509 civilian deaths raises serious doubts regarding its veracity, as the Ukrainian side has refused to publish exhaustive lists or has included people who died in other places or from natural causes.
The lawyer also referred to the norms of international humanitarian law, which impose a legal obligation on parties to the conflict to record in detail the identities of the deceased, the circumstances of their death, and to pass on this information to their relatives.
In addition, the Portuguese legal expert praised the September report of the International Public Tribunal on the crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis.
"The report prepared by the International Public Tribunal for the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis has provided us with a wealth of important information and data to establish the truth," Guerreiro said.
Russia has repeatedly sent official requests to the UN Secretariat demanding lists of the dead in Bucha. No response has been forthcoming. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that the UN Secretariat's lack of response to Moscow's requests regarding the events in Bucha proves that the events in that city were a provocation by the Kyiv regime.
On September 24, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov presented a report titled "Goebbels' Heirs: The Falsification of the Bucha Events and the Kyiv Regime's Bloody Stagings" to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Lavrov demanded that the UN Secretariat conduct a detailed analysis of the staging perpetrated by Kyiv and its sponsors.
Following the withdrawal of Russian troops from the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region in March 2022, Ukrainian and Western media published photos and videos showing the bodies of people in civilian clothing. This was followed by accusations of murder against Russian troops in Bucha. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied the accusations, citing the staged nature of the photos. The ministry called the leaked footage a provocation by the Kyiv regime and Western media.
[Regnum] American military expert and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence analyst Scott Ritter walked the first historical memory route in Russia dedicated to the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people by the Nazis and their collaborators in the Kaliningrad region. This was announced on October 3 by the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of Russia.
The trip took place in the lead-up to the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials. The route was created as part of the federal law perpetuating the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War.
"The Kaliningrad region remembers the inhumane conditions in which Soviet citizens were held. No fewer than 56 specialized camps operated here," the center noted on its Telegram channel.
According to the organization, over 90,000 prisoners of war passed through the Stalag-1A-Shtablak camp, and "labor exchanges" existed in the region where abducted Soviet citizens were sold into slavery.
In December 2023, the Kaliningrad Regional Court recognized the crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators in East Prussia as genocide against the Soviet people. According to the court's findings, at least 672,623 civilians and prisoners of war were illegally deported, at least 114,485 people died, and more than 211,624 were sent to forced labor.
During his trip, Ritter also visited the Kaliningrad office of the National Center for Historical Memory. Center expert Alexander Shcheglov presented him with the exhibition "Saved Europe," dedicated to the role of the Red Army and the Soviet people in liberating European countries from Nazism.
Written by Russian miliary journalist Boris Rozhin for TASS
[ColonelCassad] My article for TASS on the attacks on bridges in Kyiv.
The Russian Armed Forces began systematic, high-precision strikes on key bridges across the Dnieper in Kyiv. Thus, the long-running debate about why these strategic arteries remained untouched has officially been closed.
But what exactly is the purpose of this operation, and what consequences will it have?
DAMAGE:
According to published enemy data and objective monitoring footage, three transport arteries of the Ukrainian capital were hit:
the Southern Bridge, the Paton Bridge, and the Metro Bridge. The strikes were carried out by jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles, which targeted bridge supports, road surfaces, and cable-stayed cable systems. As a result of the firepower, the Kyiv regime suspended operations of key crossings overnight or transferred them to a limited mode.
This immediately impacted logistics in Kyiv—a huge accumulation of vehicles was observed in the morning near the closed bridges. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed in its official statement that the strikes targeted only facilities used for military logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF). The Southern Bridge sustained the most significant damage. If specialized drones destroy its cable tensioning system, there is a risk of collapse of the structure's largest span. Restoring such a facility during combat operations would be an insurmountable task for Ukraine, especially given the critical air defense situation in Kyiv. According to the enemy's own estimates, disrupting the Southern Bridge would cause damage of at least 8 billion hryvnias (approximately $180 million) just from the restructuring of logistics chains, not including the cost of potential repairs.
OBJECTIVES:
It is important to remember that key bridges across the Dnieper are used to transfer enemy troops and reserves from the right bank to the left bank, as well as to ensure the uninterrupted supply of fuel and Western military supplies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The bridges across the Dnieper River in Kyiv, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk are in many ways crucial—if not decisive—for supporting the high-intensity operations of Kyiv-based formations in left-bank Ukraine. This is why the scenario of the destruction of all key bridges on the Dnieper has been considered catastrophic for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2022. The debate over "why aren't they attacking the bridges" is now being addressed, as the strikes are being carried out using the latest jet-powered drones, which weren't available in 2022 or even 2025.
Clearly, the political command has launched a process of systematically targeting key targets in Kyiv. In fact, it has been demonstrated in practice that the concentrated use of jet-powered drones can paralyze military logistics in the enemy's capital.
It's important to understand, however, that hampering logistics and completely physically destroying crossings are not the same thing. These bridges were built during the Soviet era, taking into account standards for preparing infrastructure for a potential full-scale war with NATO, including a nuclear one. Therefore, Soviet-era infrastructure has a high degree of resilience, as has been repeatedly demonstrated by combat experience in Ukraine.
A prime example is the bridge in Zatoka, which was repeatedly attacked by a wide variety of weapons, including guided aerial bombs (GABs), cruise and ballistic missiles, various drone modifications, and even unmanned boats (UABs). Despite damage and temporary shutdowns, the bridge was able to resume limited operations after repairs.
The Antonov Bridge across the Dnieper in Kherson performed similarly. In 2022, the enemy struck it with numerous HIMARS MLRS strikes. The bridge sustained significant damage, but survived (it was later destroyed). Therefore, destroying such capital structures is truly difficult. Some often confuse the challenge of disabling such Soviet giants with the destruction of small bridges, which have been destroyed in large quantities in the special military operation zone since 2022.
The current campaign, however, demonstrates a fundamentally different approach—the methodical destruction of vulnerable bridge components.
SIGNIFICANCE:
Considering Kyiv's Dnieper crossings, the Southern Bridge is considered the most vulnerable. As already noted, its functioning critically depends on the integrity of the cable-stayed structure. If even a portion of the cables breaks, the stability of the main bridge span will be compromised. Therefore, our jet drones attack the cable-stayed cables rather than the massive supports, which are much more difficult to destroy.
From a logistical standpoint, this bridge is the most valuable. It is connected to the key E40 transport corridor, originating in Western Europe. Failure of this bridge would immediately impact the regularity of deliveries, increase logistics lead times, and disrupt many of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' military planning plans. Thus, the disabling, and especially the collapse, of the Southern Bridge will have complex consequences not only for Kyiv but for Ukraine as a whole. It is one of Ukraine's key logistical hubs.
The Kyiv authorities are well aware that with sustained and systematic work in this direction, the Russian Armed Forces will be able to at least limit the logistical use of these arteries. Therefore, they are already considering mitigation measures (although they should have done so before 2022, before provoking further attacks).
On the one hand, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to strengthen the bridges' air defenses and are doing everything possible to accelerate the development of interceptor drones to counter Russian jet-powered drones. On the other hand, they are already discussing the creation of backup pontoon bridges across the Dnieper River in Kyiv. While they will have a much smaller capacity, they will be able to handle military cargo. This is a feasible task for the engineering units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, this work can also be effectively hindered by strikes on the pontoon bridges and the crossing itself, should they be targeted.
Ultimately, much will depend on the intensity of the impact on the structures in Kyiv and the duration of this campaign. Even disabling one of these bridges would cause significant damage. And if we manage to paralyze conventional logistics via the Dnieper and force the enemy to switch to alternative supply lines, the consequences will become operational and strategic. Now it's up to our specialists in long-range unmanned systems to decide.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
BREAKING: Israel says pilot tried to hijack flydubai flight to Tel Aviv that diverted, landed in Saudi Arabia
