Source : Perth Now news
Russian aerial attacks have forced the partial closure of three bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor says, in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the city.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top diplomat said officials had received separate proposals for a partial truce with Russia from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt.
The proposals envision halting attacks on energy infrastructure, which have caused fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine, and on Black Sea shipping needed to get vital grain exports to world markets.
The Russian strikes forcing the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges caused traffic logjams and appeared to be a new tactic in its campaign to torment the city’s residents.
Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, petrol stations and data centres, among other targets, in an escalation of attacks.
The aerial war has intensified in recent months as fighting along the roughly 1250km front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine became virtually deadlocked.
Russia invaded its neighbour more than four-and-a-half years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible.
However, Ukraine has made some progress against Russia’s bigger army, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Russian forces lost control over almost 300 square kilometres between March and September, the Washington-based think tank said in a report released on Thursday.
Also, it said the Russian military suffered more than 46,000 casualties in September, the highest monthly number in 2026.
It did not say how many Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded.
Russia fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight, striking Kyiv and eight other regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.
Almost half of the drones were the jet-powered type that were especially hard to stop, he said.
A drone hit a high-rise apartment block in Kyiv, killing one person, he said.
At least four people were reported wounded elsewhere.
Zelenskiy repeated his appeal for foreign countries to close loopholes in international sanctions on Russia and to add more restrictions on its trade.
He said Russia’s drones and missiles were “critically dependent” on foreign components.
“Every Russian drone can actually be stopped right at the production line,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.
Ukraine has also bombarded Russia with the long-range drones and missiles it now produces, aiming at military manufacturing plants and oil refineries.
The Russian defence ministry said on Friday that its air defences overnight downed 646 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, occupied Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
One person was wounded in Russia’s southwestern Volgograd region, governor Andrei Bocharov said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the partial truce proposals presented to Kyiv by four countries were the first time India has offered to play a role.
India is trying to balance its ties with Russia against its growing partnerships with the United States and other Western powers.
A new US sanctions package on Russia could impose up to 100 per cent tariffs on New Delhi as a major importer of Russian oil.
Sybiha said Kyiv was ready to accept a ceasefire if it stopped Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid – as well as Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries – and on cargo vessels exporting grain and other farm products through the Black Sea.
He repeated Ukraine’s offer of an unconditional ceasefire on the front line.
But Moscow has rejected a ceasefire, saying a comprehensive peace deal must be agreed rather than a temporary truce.
