Kyiv Metro trains are expected to resume full service again between Lisova and Akademmistechko stations on Monday evening, Oct. 19, local time, but will pass through Chernihivska without stopping while crews continue repairing damage from an earlier Russian attack.
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko announced the plan after visiting the station, where more than 70 specialists have been working at the site. According to him, workers have already removed all the shattered glass and debris from the station, with repairs to the damaged tracks and the contact rail nearly complete.
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“Work to restore the power supply and train traffic control systems is ongoing,” Klitschko said, noting that these are the most difficult tasks. “Work has been underway since last night,” he continued.
Air raid alerts, he said, are slowing the effort significantly. Each time sirens round, workers must head to the shelters before they can resume repairs.
The station, located on Kyiv’s left bank, was hit overnight into Monday.
Service at Chernihivska and the neighboring Lisova station was restricted that morning because of the attack, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Extra buses to ease disruptions
Aiming to ease the disruptions caused by the strike, Kyiv has increased service on bus routes No. 1-M and No. 118, which link districts normally connected by the metro.
On temporary route No. 1-M, 3 more buses now run between Lisova and Darnytsia metro stations, while 12 additional buses run from Lisova to Palats Sportu in the city center.
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According to Klitschko, the added buses will keep residents connected to central Kyiv, including during air-raid alerts, without overcrowding Darnytsia station.
Russia widens targets to transport
The damage comes only days after Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov confirmed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces were deliberately striking Ukraine’s transport, particularly bridges and railway, alongside the digital infrastructure.
“According to the General Staff’s plan, strikes are being carried out on bridges of strategic importance, railway transport facilities, and data centers used to support the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Gerasimov said on Oct. 16, during a briefing at a command post of Russia’s Joint Group of Forces.
Since Oct. 1, Russian drones have repeatedly struck Kyiv’s South and North bridges across the Dnipro River, forcing closures that brought traffic in the capital to a standstill.
Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Major Artem Bilyk said that Russia is using a “small cuts” approach, with repeated strikes that force bridges to close for inspections and repairs rather than destroy them outright.
Combined with so-called “double-tap” strikes – a second attack on the same location while rescuers are responding to the scene – repairs take significantly longer.
Pressure on city authorities
The repairs also come as Kyiv’s leadership faces criticism from President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Oct. 13, he said the capital was trailing every other region in carrying out its wartime resilience plan, including those on the frontline. It was his second rebuke of Kyiv’s authorities in a week.
“And Kyivans definitely feel this,” Zelensky said, because even after a single hit by a Shahed drone, “there are power and water outages in a significant part of the capital.”
Klitschko has rejected the criticism, saying the city is working with limited time, funding and staff.
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