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Russian attack hits Northern Bridge across the Dnipro in Kyiv, mayor says

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian air attack hit the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro on Saturday 3 October, suspending traffic. It follows repeated strikes on the Southern Bridge over the previous two days.

3 outlets · 1L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated

Updated (version 2). New coverage since the last version from Meduza.

Image: The Straits Times
Image: France 24
Image: Meduza

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro river was hit during a Russian air attack on Saturday 3 October. Mixed · 2Klitschko said the strike damaged the road surface and the trolleybus wires, and traffic from the east (left) bank to the west (right) bank was blocked; emergency services were sent to the scene. Left · 1Meduza said Klitschko described the bridge as partially closed to traffic, a narrower description than the full blockage reported by the other outlets.

Right · 1No casualties were reported, according to Reuters, carried by the Straits Times. Centre · 1France 24 reported that the attack followed a drone alert. Mixed · 2The strike came after the Southern Bridge was hit several times by Russian drones in the previous two days. On Friday, authorities shut the Southern Bridge and restricted movement on another crossing, causing severe congestion, with long lines of stationary vehicles and some commuters forced to walk.

Left · 1Meduza reported that on 1 and 2 October Russia carried out at least three drone attacks on the Southern Bridge, damaging a support, a guardrail, the road surface and the metro's protective concrete barrier, and that BBC Ukrainian said these were the first strikes of the war on Kyiv's Dnipro bridges. Mixed · 2Outlets differ on the number of Dnipro crossings in Kyiv: France 24 said the Southern Bridge is one of eight, while Meduza said Kyiv has nine bridges across the river. Centre · 1City officials said the strikes were "tearing Kyiv apart", and Klitschko warned on Friday that the capital should be on a war footing. The Southern Bridge is one of eight crossings between the two sides of Kyiv.

Right · 1Before Russia's 2022 invasion, over a third of the capital's 3 million residents lived on the east bank, while most work on the west bank, where most government institutions and companies are, according to Reuters. Right · 1Reuters said residents recall last winter, the worst of the war, after Russia launched last week what was seen in Ukraine as the first salvo of an expected winter bombing campaign against power facilities supplying the capital. Moscow has previously denied systematically targeting civilians.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Meduza runs a short item framing the strike as a second major bridge hit after two days of attacks on the Southern Bridge.
Emphasis
Detail on the damage to the Southern Bridge, BBC Ukrainian's report that these were the first bridge strikes of the war, and the partial closures of other bridges.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the lack of reported casualties, the winter power-campaign fears or Moscow's denial of targeting civilians.
For example
“Russian forces struck Kyiv’s Northern Bridge on the morning of October 3, damaging the road surface and overhead trolleybus power lines.” — Meduza

Centre1 outlet

Framing
France 24 leads on the strike as another blow to Kyiv's crossings, stressing traffic chaos and city officials' warnings.
Emphasis
Commuter disruption, the Southern Bridge strikes, Klitschko's quotes and war-footing warning.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the absence of casualties, the expected winter campaign on power facilities, or Moscow's denial of targeting civilians.
For example
“Klitschko warned Friday the capital should now be on a war footing.” — France 24

Right1 outlet

Framing
Reuters copy carried by the Straits Times is a short report on the strike set in the wider escalation against Kyiv's infrastructure.
Emphasis
No casualties, the city's demographics, fears of a winter power campaign, and Moscow's denial of targeting civilians.
Leaves out or plays down
Omits the commuter congestion details and the war-footing warning reported by France 24.
For example
“Moscow has previously denied systematically targeting civilians as part of its bombing campaigns.” — The Straits Times