Ukraine calls for tighter sanctions as Russian attacks spark Kyiv gridlock

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on allies to tighten sanctions against Russia after a wave of strikes triggered gridlock across Kyiv.

Traffic chaos gripped the Ukrainian capital on Friday after Russian drone attacks overnight closed key bridges. Zelenskyy called for allies to act to prevent Moscow from sourcing components for its arsenal as Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine face attacks around the clock.

Kyiv’s Southern Bridge and Paton Bridge, key routes for cars and public transport across the Dnipro River, were closed in both directions after the attacks. The Metro Bridge was closed in the direction of Kyiv’s right bank, the city administration said.

Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post that Iranian-type Shahed kamikaze drones struck the Southern Bridge “several times”. One person was killed as Russia launched more than 100 drones across the country.

The president, who has persistently called for additional help to boost Ukraine’s air defences during Moscow’s concentrated air campaign, noted that supply chains for such weapons trail through Europe, the United States, China and Japan.

“No matter how hard Moscow tries to fully localise the production of its drones and missiles, its ability to escalate remains critically dependent on foreign components,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Most of these companies are well-known manufacturers, but their components still make their way to Russia.”

“Every Russian drone can actually be stopped right at the production line. What is needed is the political will of these countries,” he continued. “If the Kremlin has chosen more strikes, sanctions must work and must be strengthened.”

Last month, European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was “working on new proposals to tighten sanctions enforcement” and implement new measures.

US President Donald Trump separately signed a sweeping Russian sanctions package into law, taking aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin, banks, other financial institutions, and the energy and defence sectors.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian strikes targeted a kindergarten in Kherson, a grocery store in Kharkiv and apartment buildings in Kramatorsk and Sumy, Zelenskyy said.

The Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Rivne regions also came under attack with at least four people reported wounded.

The Russian Ministry of Defence earlier said on Telegram that its drones hit a bridge over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, a power station in the surrounding region, the Izmail port near Odesa and a cargo vessel. It claimed all the sites were used for Ukrainian military purposes.

Ukraine’s military carried out its own overnight attacks on Russia and said they hit a Lukoil facility in the city of Volgograd as well as an oil dispatch station in the Samara region with fires breaking out at both sites.

Ukrainian forces also carried out missions in several other Russian regions that targeted airfields, industrial sites and other facilities, including in the Black Sea, Zelenskyy said.

Russian authorities in the Black Sea port town of Tuapse said an enterprise was damaged by drone debris, but they did not provide details.