Work on the Yampil Bridge between Ukraine and Moldova faces a fresh delay after contractor Autostrada suspended activity at all of its sites on September 17, 2026, following a nationwide freeze on Ukrainian state capital spending. The company had been building a 276 metre temporary bridge across the Dniester River, due to open by the end of 2026.
The UAH 3.4 billion (about $82 million) crossing would link Yampil in Vinnytsia Oblast with Cosăuți in Moldova’s Soroca district. Autostrada, one of Ukraine’s largest road and bridge builders, says the temporary structure is the logistics base needed to restart the main 1,309 metre bridge, which has been on hold since Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022. Moreover, the completed crossing is expected to carry up to 5,000 vehicles a day and cut travel between Kyiv and Chisinau to about five hours, down from eight to 11 hours today.
Yampil Bridge Caught in Ukraine’s Capital Expenditure Freeze
Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance deferred capital expenditures planned for September through November until December, citing delays in international financing, according to Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee chair Roksolana Pidlasa. About UAH 39 billion (roughly $935 million) of capital spending planned for September alone was pushed to year end.
The government is continuing to fund social benefits and public sector salaries. However, Ukraine had received only about $21 billion of the $50.8 billion in international financing it expected for 2026 by mid September.
Autostrada founder Maksym Shkil said the government had, “in a single day and without warning, discussion, or dialogue, halted funding for all capital expenditures.” As a result, the company said it was forced to stop work across its portfolio, which affects about 8,500 employees.
Shkil later told Interfax-Ukraine that the state owes Autostrada about UAH 15 billion ($360 million) for completed work, and that he hopes funding will resume at least for key projects. Consequently, the timing of the Yampil temporary bridge now depends on when payments restart, and no revised date has been published.
Yampil Bridge Temporary Crossing Reached Moldovan Territory
Before the freeze, the temporary bridge was advancing steadily. As of August 27, 2026, Autostrada had built 120 metres of the 276 metre structure and installed 11 of its 24 steel supports, taking the work past the middle of the riverbed and onto the Moldovan side.
Each support is made up of eight steel pipes and three ice breakers, topped with steel girders and a reinforced concrete deck. Additionally, the structure is designed to be dismantled once the main bridge is finished, with its components reused on other projects.
Ukraine allocated UAH 383.8 million (about $9.2 million) from the state budget’s reserve fund in 2026 to build the temporary crossing. Even as an interim link, it is expected to shorten the road between Vinnytsia and Soroca by nearly 30 kilometres, roughly the length of a marathon.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Moldova, Paun Rohovei, described the bridge in October 2025 as “a huge and very expensive project.” Despite that, work had continued without a formal suspension until the September funding freeze.
Yampil Bridge Offers a Route Around Transnistria
The Yampil Bridge was first agreed by the presidents of Ukraine and Moldova in 2021, with Ukraine committing to finance its construction. On June 12, 2023, Oleksandr Kubrakov, then Ukraine’s minister for communities, territories and infrastructure development, and Moldova’s infrastructure minister Lilia Dabija signed a formal construction agreement in Kyiv.
The finished bridge will run more than 1,400 metres including approaches, with two traffic lanes and sidewalks on both sides. It will link Ukraine’s T-02-02 road through Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Yampil and Uman with Moldova’s R14.1 national road.
Furthermore, the crossing gives Ukrainian exporters the shortest route from central Ukraine to Central and Southeastern Europe while bypassing Russian occupied Transnistria. It also replaces a ferry at the Yampil and Cosăuți checkpoint and eases pressure on the Mohyliv-Podilskyi and Otaci crossing, which handles almost all road traffic between the two countries.
Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service has said the new checkpoint will use joint border and customs control with Moldova, carried out on Ukrainian territory. The 2023 agreement originally targeted opening in 2025, while more recent timelines point to a full launch in mid 2027.
Private Investment Tests a Different Path to Resilience
The freeze exposes how much of Ukraine’s wartime rebuilding still depends on a stretched state budget, including funds set aside to protect energy infrastructure before winter. Privately financed projects such as the ASTOR Enerji energy equipment plant in Kyiv Oblast offer another route, with the Turkish manufacturer weighing up to $200 million in a complex for transformers and battery storage. That project remains at the memorandum stage, with the Kyiv Regional Development Agency now helping the investor identify a site.
Project Overview
- Project Name: Yampil Bridge (Yampil and Cosăuți Border Bridge)
- Owner: Government of Ukraine, under an intergovernmental agreement with Moldova
- Location: Dniester River, between Yampil, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine and Cosăuți, Soroca district, Moldova
- Project Type: Cross border road bridge and international checkpoint
- Project Value: UAH 3.4 billion (about $82 million), estimated
- Main Bridge Length: 1,309 metres, per Autostrada; more than 1,400 metres including approaches
- Temporary Bridge: 276 metres on 24 steel supports; 120 metres built as of August 27, 2026
- Temporary Bridge Funding: UAH 383.8 million from the state reserve fund in 2026
- Capacity: Up to 5,000 vehicles per day
- Configuration: Two traffic lanes with sidewalks on both sides
- Status: Contractor suspended all sites on September 17, 2026, after a capital spending freeze
- Construction Start: 2021; suspended in 2022; temporary bridge works under way in 2026
- Target Completion: Temporary bridge by end of 2026; full launch mid 2027, subject to funding
- Travel Impact: Kyiv to Chisinau reduced to about five hours
Project Team
Yampil Bridge
- Contractor: Autostrada
- Ukrainian Government: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
- Ukrainian Ministry: Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine
- Ukrainian Finance Authority: Ministry of Finance of Ukraine
- Border Authority: State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
- Moldovan Ministry: Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova
- Oversight Body: Moldovan and Ukrainian Joint Commission (no official site)
ASTOR Enerji Kyiv Oblast Plant (related project)
- Investor: ASTOR Enerji A.Ş.
- Signing Authority: Kyiv Regional Military Administration
Reported 16th June 2023: According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, an agreement has been reached between Ukraine and Moldova to construct a Yampil Bridge across the Dniester River along the Ukrainian-Moldovan border. The bridge will be situated between the towns of Yampil and Koseuts. Thus, it will be vital in the transportation corridor connecting Kyiv and Chisinau.
In Ukraine, the agreement was signed by Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian Minister for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development. From Moldova, it was signed by Lilia Dabija, Moldova’s Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Kubrakov highlighted that the bridge would offer Ukrainian exporters a great direct route. This is from central Ukraine to Central and Southeastern Europe, bypassing the Russian-occupied region of Transnistria.
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Construction of Yampil Bridge across Dniester River on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border
The Yampil Bridge will be an alternative to the currently non-operational ferry crossing at the Yampil-Koseuts border checkpoint. The point fails to meet modern requirements and the needs of residents in both countries. Additionally, the bridge will help distribute the traffic flow between Ukraine and Moldova. It currently passes through the Mohyliv-Podilskyi-Otaci international checkpoint. The artificial structure will span over 1,400 meters and include two traffic lanes with sidewalks.
Kubrakov emphasised that the agreement’s signing represents a practical outcome of the commitments made by the presidents of Ukraine and Moldova in 2021. The construction of the Yampil Bridge remains crucial in establishing alternative logistics routes. This is despite adjustments to the project’s implementation due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In January 2021, it was also announced that Ukraine would finance the bridge’s construction, as it is intended to be part of a new highway connecting Kyiv and Chisinau.
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