During the night of October 27, as a result of another Russian missile attack on Kyiv, a strike was recorded on the Southern Bridge, and metro tracks were also damaged. Military expert Oleh Zhdanov told an UNN journalist more about how long it could take to restore the damaged bridge, whether there is an effective alternative solution for crossing the river, and whether new strikes on the capital's bridges are possible.
Details
The Southern Bridge is one of the capital's largest crossings and has a significant load-bearing capacity, the military expert explains. In addition, he says, it is also used by the metro, and its prolonged closure will create an additional burden on the other bridges across the Dnipro. This, in turn, could complicate not only the movement of city residents but also the transportation of goods.
We have five road bridges, and one represents roughly 20%. And these 20% will fall on the other bridges. And considering that there also need to be roads along the Dnipro so that it is possible to get from one direction to another and reach another bridge—for Kyiv, this will be a collapse
Why the other crossings will not be able to replace the Southern Bridge
In Oleh Zhdanov's opinion, even if traffic is redirected to other bridges, this still will not fully solve the problem. Instead, not only the crossings themselves but also the access roads to them will face an additional burden, and as a result, traffic jams could spread across a significant part of the city.
When you remove at least one of the five bridges, a minimum of 10% of the traffic load is distributed among the remaining bridges. And possibly more. Plus, there are the access routes—all these streets will be filled with vehicles, both private cars and trucks
The expert also commented on the possibility of setting up ferry or pontoon crossings. In his opinion, such solutions will not be able to fully ensure transport links between the capital's banks, because ferry crossings require piers to be built on both sides of the Dnipro, as well as access roads for vehicles.
Water crossings over the Dnipro are being planned in Kyiv - Klitschko27.10.26, 16:28
A ferry crossing is impossible because piers would have to be built on both sides. That's the first thing. And access roads to the places where vehicles can drive onto and off the ferries. And a pontoon crossing will not solve the issue
He also added that traffic across a pontoon crossing could likewise be quite slow because of the specifics of its design, which, in turn, would instead complicate the movement of vehicles and would not make it possible to provide the same capacity as a full-fledged bridge. In addition, the transportation of heavy equipment remains a separate problem.
A pontoon crossing is a last resort. It slows the movement of vehicles considerably. Therefore, this is a very complicated operation
How long could repairs take, and are new strikes possible?
Assessing the damage to the Southern Bridge, Oleh Zhdanov noted that he had not personally inspected the structure, so he could draw conclusions only from photographs. According to him, a bridge span was damaged, but it is unknown whether its load-bearing elements were affected, which is important because the complexity and duration of the restoration work will depend precisely on this.
To tie the reinforcement and pour the concrete takes about three weeks, and another 30 days are needed for the concrete to gain strength. Concrete can be loaded 30 days after it is poured. So, do the math: even at an accelerated pace—at least one or two months
At the same time, the military expert believes that Russia may continue attempting to strike bridges across the Dnipro, because such attacks could significantly affect the transport system and logistics, and crossings are particularly important for transporting military equipment and cargo.
They understand perfectly well: if they destroy even half of our bridges, traffic will collapse catastrophically—not by half, but several times over. Both on the railways and in road transportation. The bulk of logistics is based on road transport; low-loaders carrying heavy equipment are on the move
As an example of the possible consequences of a prolonged bridge closure, he cited a previous incident when, after a drone struck a support, the Southern Bridge was temporarily closed and considerable traffic jams formed on the roads. Now, however, if the bridge is closed in both directions for repairs, the situation could be much more complicated.
“Recall the first strike on the bridge, when a Shahed struck a support. The Southern Bridge was closed for three or four days then. What was happening in Kyiv? People stood there until midnight, unable to get from one bank to the other. Now imagine closing it in both directions for repairs. There you have a vivid example — it would be a one-hundred-percent transport collapse,”
Thus, there is currently no full-fledged alternative to the Southern Bridge, so the crossing must be protected and restored. At the same time, the exact repair timeline can be determined only after assessing the actual condition of the damaged structures.