Telegraph: bijušais NATO komandieris aicina NATO izskatīt iespēju izmantot aviaciju Kijivas aizsardzībai
Retired British colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon argued in The Telegraph that Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been tasked with striking Kyiv's bridges and civilian infrastructure as part of a winter campaign. He called on the West to sharply increase air-defense supplies and on NATO to consider using its air power to protect Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure without directly entering the war.
Galvenais
- De Bretton-Gordon, a retired British colonel and former NATO CBRN rapid-response commander, made the case in a Telegraph column.
- The op-ed identifies seven Dnipro bridges in Kyiv as key road and rail links whose destruction could split the city and paralyze northern Ukraine.
- On 1 October Russia struck the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge twice and the next day three more times; traffic was fully closed in both directions.
- Ukraine is reported to face a critical shortage of air-defense munitions, especially Patriot interceptor missiles.
- De Bretton-Gordon called for sharply increased Western supplies of missiles, radars, drones and electronic-warfare systems.
- He proposed NATO study whether its aircraft could defend specific areas or critical infrastructure without declaring a traditional no-fly zone.
- Zelensky told the Financial Times on 1 October that Putin had lifted all restrictions on air strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.
Kāpēc tas ir svarīgi
The op-ed frames a possible Russian escalation against Kyiv's seven Dnipro bridges, which carry road and rail traffic across northern Ukraine. It proposes that NATO consider using its air power to protect Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure — short of a traditional no-fly zone — and links Russia's shift toward civilian and energy infrastructure strikes to slow progress and high losses on the Donbas front. The October 1–2 strikes on the Pivdennyi Bridge are cited as the kind of operation Surovikin would oversee.
Kas notika
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a retired British colonel and former NATO commander of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear rapid-response forces, wrote in The Telegraph that Russian General Sergei Surovikin — nicknamed "General Armageddon" for directing strikes on Aleppo during the Syrian war — has been tasked by Putin with striking Kyiv's bridges and replicating in Ukraine the tactics Russia used in Syria. The column identifies seven Dnipro bridges in Kyiv as obvious Russian targets whose destruction could split the city in two and paralyze transport across northern Ukraine. It cites the 1–2 October attacks on the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge — two strikes on 1 October and three more the next day, with drones damaging a bridge support, a barrier, the roadway and a concrete enclosure of the metro, and traffic fully closed in both directions — as an example. De Bretton-Gordon says Ukraine faces an acute shortage of air-defense munitions, especially Patriot interceptor missiles, and that Russia is adapting its tactics to exploit this by increasingly targeting civilian-sustaining infrastructure. He urges sharply increased deliveries of missiles, radars, drones and electronic-warfare systems, and argues NATO should study whether its aircraft could defend specific areas or critical infrastructure without immediately declaring a traditional no-fly zone. Zelensky said in a 1 October Financial Times interview that Putin had lifted all restrictions on air strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.
Kā to atspoguļo Ukrainas avoti
Ukrainian-language coverage centers the original Telegraph reporting and often amplifies the suggestion that NATO should consider using its aviation to protect Ukrainian civilians. One Ukrainian-language piece highlights the ambiguity around Surovikin's current role: Information Resistance observer Oleksandr Kovalenko noted it is unclear how Surovikin could issue orders without holding a corresponding post. Coverage emphasizes the impact on Kyiv's transport links, citing the 1–2 October strikes on the Pivdennyi Bridge and noting that roughly one million people live on Kyiv's left bank, with many commuting daily to the right bank.
Kur atspoguļojums atšķiras
Some sources describe Surovikin as the direct recipient of a Putin order to intensify strikes on Kyiv's bridges, while a Ukrainian Information Resistance observer, Oleksandr Kovalenko, notes it is unclear what post Surovikin would be using to issue such orders. The timeline is also uneven across the material: the attacks on the Pivdennyi Bridge are dated to 1–2 October, Zelensky's Financial Times interview to 1 October, and the underlying Telegraph piece is referenced after a Russian jet drone strike on Kyiv on 8 October 2026.
Konteksts
Russia has previously carried out a campaign of large-scale strikes on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure. The Telegraph's assessment draws on reporting that Putin has lifted restrictions on strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine. Ukraine is reported to be facing shortages of air-defense munitions, including Patriot interceptor missiles. Approximately one million people live on Kyiv's left bank, with many commuting daily across the Dnipro.