Serhii Zgurets, director of the Defense Express information and consulting company, said Russia is unlikely to be able to destroy Ukrainian bridges with missiles, but jet-powered drones could damage individual structural elements and force authorities to restrict their use.

Axar.az reports, citing Ukrainian media, that Zgurets made the remarks in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.

Zgurets noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, there have been concerns about potential strikes on hydroelectric power plants, areas near such facilities and bridges in Kyiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. He recalled that Russian forces attempted to use Kh-101 cruise missiles against facilities associated with dams as early as 2022.

“But despite all the guidance systems of the Kh-101, it is quite difficult to accurately hit the most vulnerable parts of bridges or hydraulic structures with these missiles. At the same time, all bridges were built with a significant safety margin, and some were even designed to withstand tactical nuclear strikes,” the expert emphasized.

Zgurets added that ballistic missiles are even less accurate.

“A ballistic missile warhead can reach the equivalent of half a ton of TNT, which looks threatening. But even these figures are offset by the strength of bridges and hydraulic structures,” the expert said.

Speaking about the threat posed to bridges by jet-powered drones, Zgurets said these UAVs carry warheads weighing 50–90 kilograms.

It should be noted that Russian forces struck the Southern Bridge in Kyiv the previous day.