The ISW speculated that Russia used a new warhead in the strike on the South Bridge

Russia may have used a new 40-kilogram warhead during the strike on the South Bridge in Kyiv. According to the ISW, Russian forces may be using cumulative charges on long-range drones to strike large, fortified targets.

 

This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

“Russian forces struck the South Bridge in Kyiv as part of a campaign to destroy the Ukrainian economy and make life more difficult in the Ukrainian capital,” ISW analysts note.

“Russian military bloggers claimed that Russian troops are seeking to disrupt traffic across the bridge and, through repeated strikes on the same section, inflict increasingly severe damage on the bridge,” the report states.

Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the President of Ukraine on defense technologies, known as “Flash,” reported on September 30 that the Russians had used a 40-kilogram cumulative warhead on “Geran”-type jet drones. These were designed to destroy power poles and steel bridge structures.

“The shaped-charge warhead concentrates the energy of the explosion to better penetrate targets made of hardened steel and concrete, causing greater damage to bridges, armored vehicles, fortifications, power line pylons, and other reinforced structures,” the ISW explains.

However, analysts emphasize: “The type of warhead on the drone that Russian forces used to strike the bridge remains unclear at this time.”

“Some Russian military bloggers have speculated that Russian forces used a ‘Geran’-type drone with a cumulative warhead to strike the South Bridge in Kyiv, while others claimed that a new warhead was used to strike power lines,” the think tank adds.

“Such technological changes to the ‘Geran’ strike drone, however, may allow Russian forces to repeatedly deliver precision strikes on vulnerable points in structures,” the ISW assesses.

Over time, this could seriously damage infrastructure such as the South Bridge, which the Russians have found difficult to significantly damage or destroy, writes the ISW.

The Kyiv City Express commuter train continues to run between the left and right banks of Kyiv along its full route and according to schedule, despite the nighttime attack on the capital.

In Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, a 25-story residential building was damaged as a result of the enemy attack. Initial reports indicated that details regarding the casualties were still being clarified.

In Kyiv, public transportation has been temporarily restricted on certain bridges due to the aftermath of the nighttime enemy attacks. 

Over the past 24 hours, Russian occupation forces carried out 741 strikes on 51 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region.