Horrors of War

Duration: 5 hours

Languages: English

Itinerary

Romanivka
Irpin
Bucha
Hostomel
Moshchun

Sightseeing

Around five in the morning on February 24, 2022, Kyiv woke up to powerful explosions. The neighbouring aggressor country launched a full-scale invasion, starting a massive missile strike on Ukraine. A land offensive also began from the north (the territory of Belarus and russia), the south (from Crimea), and the occupied eastern territories. The russian president announced the start of a “special military operation.” In the aggressor’s plans, the Kyiv region held a special place as it was the gateway to the capital, which they planned to capture in 3-5 days in order to force the Ukrainian authorities to sign a full surrender on russian terms. The missile attacks were aimed at strategic facilities in the Kyiv region. The aggressor seeked to capture military airfields near Kyiv, such as the Antonov airfield in Hostomel, land troops there, and provide reinforcements in the form of a column of military equipment. Having survived the first fear, some of the residents of Kyiv began to hastily collect the most necessary things and leave the city, while others tried to defend the country. At 6:48, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the introduction of martial law throughout Ukraine. Defensive structures began to be created at the entrances to Kyiv.

The battles in the Kyiv region became key in the defense of the Ukrainian capital. “Hostomel gave battle to the enemy, three helicopters out of 34 were shot down. The russian attack aircraft, fighters and helicopters were operating. We were forced to launch an artillery strike on the airport where the enemy landing force landed. The brigade regrouped. Data on the loss is being clarified, according to the results of the battle, it was possible to save the maximum number of manpower,” the National Guard rapid response brigade reported on its Facebook page.

However, the hottest battles for Hostomel were still ahead and lasted for another ten days, until the village was temporarily occupied. Fierce battles unfolded in the cities of Bucha and Irpin, neighboring Kyiv. In order to cut off the roads to the capital, the Ukrainian military blew up the city across the Irpin River from the side of the village of Romanivka (it was this destroyed bridge that was used in early March to evacuate Irpin residents to Kyiv), as well as the city in Stoyanka from the side of the Zhytomyr highway. When the russians failed to force the Irpin River in Hostomel and Irpin, they tried in early March to advance to Kyiv through the villages of Horenka in the west and Moshchun in the north, where more than 70% of the housing stock was damaged.

At the end of March, the advantage began to shift to the side of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. On March 28, Irpin was completely liberated from the invaders. On March 31, Bucha was deoccupied, and on April 1, the last russian units left Hostomel. By April 2, the entire Kyiv region was deoccupied.

Included: