Russian attacks 'tearing Kyiv apart' - city Mayor

Russian attacks on key infrastructure are "tearing Kyiv apart", according to the city's mayor, as strikes on a bridge linking the capital's east and west brought traffic to a standstill.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ripping up the rulebook of armed conflict by sanctioning massive attacks on civilian areas, an accusation the Kremlin has rejected.

The war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, has largely focused on ground fighting in the east, with Kyiv largely spared from the devastation near the frontline.

However, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said that the city should now be on a war footing.

"The capital is in a very dramatic situation," he posted on Telegram.

"It's no longer possible to pretend that we can live now as we lived in peacetime.

"The enemy is tearing Kyiv apart," he added.

His message came as authorities shut one of Kyiv's main bridges and restricted movement on a second after another wave of deadly strikes by fast-moving, jet-powered drones.

Long lines of stationary cars and buses were gridlocked on main roads as commuters sought alternative routes - or made their way on foot.

"I've been travelling for three hours... to get to work", said Tetiana Osypenko, a 49-year-old resident whose bus was stuck in a traffic jam.

"There's just no way to get there. Nothing. It's impossible to cross the bridges today," she said.

Previous disruption to subway services during air raids forced her to spend the night in a metro station near the Southern Bridge.

Traffic built up due to the complete closure to all vehicles going in both directions on the Southern Bridge, one of eight bridges connecting the east and west of Kyiv over the Dnipro river.

The Paton Bridge, further north, was open in one direction only, though there were no reports that it had been struck.

In a post on X, Mr Zelensky accused the Russian president of last month declaring there were "no rules now", citing unnamed intelligence and people around Mr Putin.

"The Russians couldn't occupy us. So now they are doing massive attacks and massive killings," Mr Zelensky said.

The Kremlin made no immediate public response to the claim.

Daily disruption

Kyiv has increasingly faced aerial bombardment in recent months, putting the city on near-constant alert and disrupting daily life.

Air raid sirens warning of approaching threats in the skies sound almost round the clock, urging the city's estimated three million people to seek shelter.

Repeated strikes on trains and petrol stations have disrupted the rail and road networks while attacks on energy facilities threaten power and heating.

'Political will'

Mr Zelensky has called for tougher sanctions to prevent Russia from manufacturing its new jet-powered drones, which are faster and harder to intercept.

Russia's production of the weapons was "critically dependent" on foreign components, he wrote on social media.

"Every Russian drone can actually be stopped right at the production line. What is needed is the political will of these countries," he added.

Zelensky has repeatedly called on Ukraine's Western allies for more military support, particularly for US-made Patriot missile interceptors.

Yesterday Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had used its FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, without disclosing where or what it had been used against.

He also said Ukraine was testing five of its own interceptors against drones.

South Korea threatens 'measures' against Ukraine in POW row

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledged a confidentiality agreement that Seoul says covered the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and issued an apology.

Mr Lee also expressed "grave regret" over what he described as Ukrainian remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea, saying they amounted to encouraging war on the Korean peninsula.

Seoul and Kyiv have been locked in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced ‌at the United Nations General Assembly last month ⁠that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war captured while fighting for Russia to South Korea.

Seoul subsequently accused Kyiv of breaching an agreement to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers, while Ukrainian officials denied any such agreement existed.

Kyiv's embassy in Seoul did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Lee's remarks.

'Neither side benefits from dispute'

Ukraine was seeking to mend ties with South Korea, Ukrainian media reported, quoting Foreign Minister ‌Andrii Sybiha.

"I would not like to call this an incident. Let's say, it's a diplomatic misunderstanding," Sybiha told journalists at an event, according to a report yesterday on news website nv.ua and other media.

A ⁠senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official told reporters that the countries' foreign ministers had been discussing how Kyiv could ‌address Seoul's concerns, including a possible apology, according to South Korean media reports.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Mr Sybiha ⁠had been in ‌direct contact and were discussing what level of response Seoul was seeking and what Ukraine could accept, while taking into account Ukraine's wartime circumstances and the need to avoid causing either side a loss of face, according to the reports.

The dispute comes at a sensitive time for Mr Lee's administration, which has sought to reduce ⁠tensions with North Korea and is also dealing with the political fallout from a recent landmine incident in the Demilitarised Zone that separates the two ⁠Koreas.