Zelenskyy presses allies for tighter sanctions after Russian drones choke Kyiv traffic

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies on Friday to tighten sanctions on Russia after overnight drone attacks closed major bridges in Kyiv and snarled traffic across the capital. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters and Ukrainian authorities, said Kyiv’s Southern Bridge and Paton Bridge were closed in both directions and the Metro Bridge was restricted toward the right bank after strikes. Zelenskyy wrote that Iranian-type Shahed kamikaze drones hit the Southern Bridge several times and that one person was killed as Russia launched more than 100 drones nationwide. He argued Moscow’s ability to escalate still depends on foreign components routed through Europe, the United States, China and Japan, and said every Russian drone could be stopped “right at the production line” if governments show political will. Elsewhere, Zelenskyy said Russian strikes hit a kindergarten in Kherson, a grocery store in Kharkiv and apartment buildings in Kramatorsk and Sumy, with further attacks across Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Rivne regions and at least four people wounded. Russia’s defence ministry claimed hits on a Dnipro River bridge, a power station near Kyiv, Izmail port and a cargo vessel, asserting military use. Ukraine said it struck a Lukoil facility in Volgograd and an oil dispatch site in Samara, with fires reported at both. EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said last month the bloc was preparing tighter sanctions enforcement; U.S. President Donald Trump has separately signed a sweeping Russia sanctions package into law. Sources: Al Jazeera.