The drone strikes on the bridges in Kiev are aimed at causing transport collapse and panic, and not necessarily at destroying the facilities. This was stated by Ukrainian military expert, military serviceman and chairman of the council of reservists of the Ground Forces Ivan Tymochko to UNIAN. He commented on the attacks on the South and North bridges, which connect the two banks of the Ukrainian capital.
“The Russians set themselves the goal not so much of destroying the bridge, as they understand that this is impossible with drones, although they can damage it, but of creating a transport collapse“, said Tymochko. According to him, the strikes should make residents afraid to use the bridges, lest they fall into a zone of defeat, die or have their transport destroyed.
The goal is to load other roads
According to the expert, changing the routes would lead to serious difficulties on the other main roads. The roads around the bridges could become heavily congested, and access to them could be complicated.
“The enemy needs a picture of victims to make people afraid to travel on the bridges they use every day to get to work, to see a doctor or to take their children to school or kindergarten,“ said Tymochko.
Attacks on the South and North Bridges
On October 1, a Russian drone struck the South Bridge in Kiev while a metro train was passing through an open section of it. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported two hits near the supporting part of the structure. After the attack, the movement of the metro and surface public transport on the bridge was stopped, but later restored.
On October 4, Russian forces struck the roadway of the Northern Bridge. Two people were injured in the impact. One was taken to hospital, while the other was treated on the spot.
Bridges are a difficult target
Timochko said that the strategic decommissioning of a bridge is extremely complex. According to him, even bridges near the front line are often only partially damaged and then restored.
“Strikes on bridges are currently more of an informational goal for the Russians, because on the front line, apart from fictional victories, Russia has nothing to boast about“, said the expert.
He added that the bridge is a difficult target for a long-range strike, since despite its size it is a relatively narrow and limited area. The facilities are built with high resistance to technical and temperature impacts, as well as to missile strikes.
Sources: unian.net