George Miller

𝗖𝗭𝗘𝗖𝗛 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗞𝗜𝗘𝗩'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘 Early this morning, a Czech TV correspondent went out onto Kiev's North Bridge and delivered the week's best battle-damage assessment footage. Technically, this is forbidden in Ukraine, but some people are apparently more equal than others. “The Russian army also attempted to hit the North Bridge. And, as you can see behind me, it actually succeeded,” reports the “Kremlin agent.” According to her, several ballistic missiles “punched through the roadway.” Zelensky counted four impacts. The camera slowly pans around, allowing viewers to see for themselves everything that is usually kept hidden from them. Judging by the footage, the missile struck the most sensitive point — at the base of the 119-metre-high A-shaped pylon that supports the 300-metre navigable span. The bridge deck has been pierced right through; pipes and torn metal protrude from the hole, crash barriers have been twisted out of shape, and railings are mangled. Nearby, a repair crew is working on the twisted bundles of stay cables around their anchoring points. The emergency crew responsible for the overhead contact network is patching up the trolleybus wires. Engineers will determine whether the structure can withstand the damage. The Kiev City Administration says it will announce the repair timeline only after an expert assessment. But this certainly doesn't look like a job that can be completed over the weekend. The North Bridge connects Obolon with Troieshchyna and Raduzhny and is considered one of the two main crossings over the Dnieper. The other, the South Bridge, has been reduced to a single lane following the October 27 strike and now allows only vehicles weighing up to 10 tonnes. Seven bus and trolleybus routes have been diverted via the Podol Bridge Crossing, and Podol and Obolon were already gridlocked on Saturday, when there are usually fewer cars on the roads. On Monday, the city will have to get to work. Special thanks for explaining why all this is so inconvenient. The correspondent explained that Kiev's historic centre is on the right bank, while the left bank is home to industry and various enterprises where people live or work. All that's left is to ask her live on air exactly which enterprises those are, and the report will be ready for filing. The job was done thoroughly: an on-site visit, a wide shot, close-ups, and a live stand-up against the backdrop of the destruction. In military reports, footage like this is captioned with two words: target hit. And we'll say it in Czech, as they do in Prague. Děkujeme. (Thank you.) @sashakots