Kyiv is preparing pontoon crossings in case of bridge strikes and planning tunnel under Dnipro River – minister

What Happened

In an interview with Suspilne, Ukraine's Minister of Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk said Kyiv will begin building several reserve pontoon crossings across the Dnipro River next week as contingency infrastructure in case bridges are struck. Kalashnyk stated that urgent solutions include earth dams with pontoon crossings that can be built quickly, with construction expected to take up to three months and to provide at least half the throughput of existing bridges; he cited an average of about 600,000 cars crossing between the left and right banks per day. He said a coordination meeting was held by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, assigning the work jointly to the ministry, the Agency for Restoration, the military, and Kyiv city authorities. Kalashnyk added that locations for initial construction have been determined, work is planned in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine and on rivers beyond the Dnipro. The ministry is also weighing quick-assembly concrete structures and, in the longer term, a tunnel under the Dnipro, which he said could cost tens of billions of hryvnias and would require support from Kyiv's international partners. Meanwhile, he said the main priority remains preserving existing bridges, with the first step preventing strikes through sky protection coordinated with the military, followed by protection, rapid recovery, and alternative reserve crossings.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The measures respond to Russian strikes on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and are intended to preserve mobility across the Dnipro in Kyiv, a strategic chokepoint. Securing alternative crossings mitigates the operational impact of bridge destruction on the movement of civilians, logistics, and potentially military traffic, while the tunnel proposal signals long-term resilience planning contingent on foreign funding.

Watch For

Monitor whether preparatory work transitions to visible construction of earth dams and pontoon crossings at determined Kyiv locations next week, and whether the three-month timeline and half-capacity throughput claims are met. Watch for announcements on funding or feasibility studies for the Dnipro tunnel, and for any additional bridge-protection measures or new crossing projects in other Ukrainian regions.