Putin launches chilling new war strategy aimed at bringing Kyiv to its knees

 A Russian attack damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge in the early hours of Saturday, halting traffic and creating congestion for a third consecutive day, as Moscow continues its campaign to disrupt daily life in the Ukrainian capital.

The assault occurred one day after Russian strikes forced the complete or partial shutdown of three out of Kyiv's six road bridges spanning the Dnipro River. In recent escalated attacks, Russia has previously targeted apartment buildings, supermarket warehouses, fuel stations and data centers, among other locations.

Russia launched its invasion of the neighboring country more than 4 1⁄2 years ago, and no tangible indications suggest a peace agreement may be achievable. Combat along the approximately 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line winding through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has remained largely stagnant in recent months.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko reported the strike caused damage to the road surface and trolleybus cables, necessitating a traffic suspension. No casualties were reported.

Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed on Saturday its responsibility for the latest strike, asserting the bridge serves to "facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries" for Ukraine's armed forces.

Videos spreading across social media appeared to capture the moment of impact as vehicles traveled across the bridge, including footage allegedly recorded by a driver's dashcam.

The air campaign has escalated, with Kyiv targeting Russia's oil sector and commercial infrastructure while Moscow has threatened Ukrainian population centers with difficult-to-stop ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu declared Saturday that the war is "dangerously reaching" her nation, following multiple airspace violations.

"I condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine this morning. Its war is dangerously reaching Moldova," she stated in a post on X, noting that five "Russian air attack weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated our airspace and exploded on our soil.

"Moscow is putting lives at risk across Europe and must be stopped," she continued. Ukraine's air force reported that Moscow launched Banderol cruise missiles overnight - inexpensive, jet-powered loitering munitions that Russia deploys to saturate Ukrainian air defenses - at the Odesa region, which shares an extensive land border with Moldova.

A loitering munition is engineered to circle over an area, hunting for targets, and explode upon impact. Meanwhile, people were injured after Ukrainian drones struck the city of Kaluga in western Russia overnight, damaging apartment buildings, according to regional Gov. Vladislav Shapsha.

He did not provide immediate casualty figures, but reported that 13 drones were shot down over the region during the night.