Russian drone strike hits Kyiv's North Bridge during Merz visit

A Russian drone strike hit Kyiv's Pivnichnyi (North) Bridge on Sunday, causing a large explosion on the roadway, with one person killed in the attack. The strike occurred during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to the Ukrainian capital. Video footage, verified by the BBC, shows cars on the bridge as the drone struck and exploded, sending up a fireball and black smoke. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the fatality and reported six injuries from a separate strike on a communications facility in Dnipro, alongside an overnight barrage of 135 drones nationwide. This was the second consecutive day of attacks on the North Bridge, part of an intensified Russian campaign against Kyiv's infrastructure. Merz visited the site of a separate drone strike on the National Academy of Sciences that killed two people, and met with Zelenskyy to discuss new agreements on defense support.