Kyiv bridges shut after Russian drone strikes as truce proposals emerge

Russian aerial attacks on Friday led to the full or partial closure of three bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, as Moscow stepped up efforts to disrupt daily life in the Ukrainian capital. At the same time, Ukraine said it had received separate proposals from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt for a partial truce focused on halting attacks on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping.

The developments came as the wider war remained largely deadlocked along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line, despite an intensifying aerial campaign in recent months. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk said civilians "are bearing the brunt of this war" and called the conflict "a human rights catastrophe that is growing and intensifying by the week, causing unfathomable pain to civilians". He added: "Across Ukraine, people are living in constant dread."

Kyiv mayoral authorities said the attacks caused heavy traffic after three of the city's six road bridges were shut fully or partly. Russia has previously struck apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, petrol stations and data centres, among other targets, in an escalation of attacks on the city.

Although there are no concrete signs of a possible peace settlement more than four and a half years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said Kyiv had made some progress this year against Russia's larger army. The Washington-based think tank said Russian forces lost control of almost 300 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory between March and September, and that the Russian military suffered more than 46,000 casualties in September, the highest monthly number this year. It did not give figures for Ukrainian troops killed or wounded.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight, hitting Kyiv and eight other regions. He said almost half of them were jet-powered drones that are especially difficult to stop. A drone struck a high-rise apartment building in Kyiv, killing one person, while at least four others were reported injured elsewhere.

Zelenskyy again urged foreign countries to close loopholes in international sanctions on Russia and impose more trade restrictions, saying Russian drones and missiles are "critically dependent" on foreign components. "Every Russian drone can actually be stopped right at the production line," he said in a post on X.

Ukraine has also carried out long-range drone and missile attacks on Russia, targeting military manufacturing plants and oil refineries. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that its air defences had downed 646 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, occupied Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said one person was injured in the southwestern region and that the attack had targeted "industrial infrastructure", without giving details.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the partial truce proposals were notable because it was the first time India had offered to play a role. He said Kyiv was ready to accept a ceasefire if it covered both Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid and Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, along with attacks on cargo vessels carrying grain and other farm exports through the Black Sea.

"We are ready for an energy and Black Sea ceasefire, but only in that combination. Energy and a ceasefire in the Black Sea," Sybiha told reporters on Thursday in remarks released on Friday. 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 instead of a temporary truce.

Sybiha said India's role came as New Delhi tried to balance its ties with Russia with its growing partnerships with the United States and other Western powers. He noted that a new US sanctions package on Russia could impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on India as a major buyer of Russian oil.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that Ukraine had attacked four Russian oil refineries overnight, but that air defences had repelled the strikes and key equipment had not been damaged. He said the government and companies had worked to strengthen refinery protection. In August, President Vladimir Putin decreed that the state could temporarily take control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them or rebuild them after Ukrainian strikes. It was not possible to verify the claims made by either side.

Sybiha also said Ukraine was asking partner countries for about 300 Patriot missiles because intelligence estimates suggest Russia has 600 ballistic missiles in reserve and can produce up to 140 a month. The US-made Patriot air defence systems are effective against ballistic missiles, but he said they are in short supply because of the war with Iran.

On funding, Sybiha said Ukraine urgently needed money to place future drone production contracts so that supply does not falter at the start of next year. He said Kyiv faced a projected budget deficit of about USD 27 billion this year, though the European Union has promised support. The European Commission said on Friday it had disbursed 2.9 billion euros, or USD 3.3 billion, to Ukraine in its latest financing package. Zelenskyy said the money would support Ukraine's financial stability and strengthen its defence. Russia, too, is facing economic and financial strain because of high military spending and debt.

Friday's developments underlined both the pressure on civilians from continuing aerial attacks and the limited attempts to find a narrower truce, even as the broader war remains unresolved and both sides continue strikes deep behind the front line.