Russia strikes hit Kyiv as Germany’s Merz visits

• Russia struck Kyiv's Northern Bridge shortly after Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived on a surprise visit to show European support amid increased attacks.
• Merz and Ukrainian President Zelensky planned to agree on over US$1 billion in military aid, including combat drones and satellite technology to strengthen air defence.
• Kyiv faces frequent Russian strikes on infrastructure and residential areas, raising fears of winter power outages; Germany pledged €350 million for energy repairs and support.

KYIV – Russia struck another major bridge in Kyiv on Oct 4, soon after Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Ukraine’s capital on a surprise visit to show European support in the face of an upsurge in attacks.

Air raid sirens blared across Kyiv throughout the morning, including as Merz met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the National Academy of Sciences, which was hit by a Russian attack drone on Sept 29.

Zelensky told Merz that the people in Kyiv were suffering “terrible nights and days” from the relentless attacks, and called Ukraine’s Russian adversaries “absolute barbarians”.

Merz said: “We can see the entire pointlessness of this war at this place. These barbarous attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. These are war crimes that are being committed daily here.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a strike had damaged the road surface on the Northern Bridge – one of several bridges connecting the eastern and western parts of the city over the Dnipro River that have been struck in recent days.

Images posted on messaging channels appeared to show a missile slamming into the structure, sending a fireball into the air.

Klitschko has said that Kyiv – largely spared the devastation wrought near the front lines in nearly five years of conflict – should now be on a war footing due to the upsurge.

A spate of round-the-clock attacks has hit residential areas, petrol stations, schools, rail and communications infrastructure.

Merz said the country “needs all our support in the coming weeks”.

“If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us,” he added.

Ukraine wants more Western military support, including advanced interceptors to shoot down Russia’s new fast-moving, jet-powered drones.

On Oct 4, Zelensky promised “important agreements”.

Government sources in Berlin said Merz and Zelensky were expected to agree on a new package of military support worth more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) for Ukraine.

It includes combat drones and satellite technology to help Ukraine hit Russian launch sites, as well as for the joint production of anti-jet drones, the German sources said.

“This support addresses the most significant current gap in Ukraine’s air defence system. The impact is expected to be rapid and tangible,” a source said.

Military support

Russia’s defence ministry on Oct 4 vowed to ramp up its strikes on “military and military-industrial facilities” plus “related infrastructure in Kyiv” and elsewhere.

The comments come after Zelensky this week said Ukraine would intensify its own attacks against oil facilities that it says supply Moscow’s troops.

Merz this week called for unity against Russia within NATO and the European Union as well as his own country, where the far-right, Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany opposition is on the rise.

There have been increasing fears in Europe that it could find itself in Russia’s cross hairs.

Security was a top concern for voters in this weekend’s election in NATO member Latvia, which borders Russia.

On Oct 3, Moscow warned foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv, saying that “massive” new air strikes would hit the city.

It made a similar threat in May but leaders from Ukraine’s allies have continued to make visits.

“The EU Delegation is staying. Threatening us will not stop Europe’s support for Ukraine. It only reminds us why that support matters,” EU ambassador Katarina Mathernova wrote on X on Oct 4.

Mathernova told AFP separately that “nobody is moving”, although European embassies always have contingency plans, including for winter.

Russia has admitted deliberately targeting Ukraine’s energy sector as winter approaches. In 2025, similar attacks knocked out power and heating for days on end as temperatures fell to minus 20 deg C.

In Kyiv, which is home to around three million people, residents have begun mulling over what to do if that happens again. The government has also suggested that the vulnerable and disabled should consider leaving.

Merz’s trip was also expected to include an announcement of around €350 million (S$504 million) in funding to help provide generators and transformer stations and fund grid repairs, German government sources said. AFP