A local woman works in the garden of her destroyed house in Andriivka, a village 40 kilometers west of Kyiv, on April 6, 2022. The village had suffered from heavy artillery shelling by Russian forces. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Kyiv Oblast was among the first regions hit by Russia's full-scale invasion. Starting from late February, towns and villages near the Ukrainian capital had been suffering from the Russian shelling and bombing, as well as atrocities of the Russian troops, including rape and summary executions.
The Russian troops withdrew from the region on April 1. Immediately, the extent of destruction and human suffering brought by the occupying forces was revealed. According to the Interior Ministry, 720 bodies of killed civilians have been found in the Kyiv Oblast alone, and over 200 people are missing.
Now, once peaceful villages around Kyiv lay destroyed, the lives of their residents ruined.
Dmytrivka
Dmytrivka is a village of 2,000 people located just 10 kilometers west of Kyiv's borders, and south of Irpin, a satellite city of Kyiv. Dmytrivka experienced heavy fighting. The village had been under the Russian occupation for nearly three weeks. Russian troops were forced out of the village after a Ukrainian offensive on March 31.
A Ukrainian serviceman shows a destroyed Russian tank not far from Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Ukrainian serviceman walk past the destroyed Russian tank in Dmytrivka, 10 kilometers west of Kyiv, on April 3, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
The body of a Russian soldier lies near the destroyed Russian tank in Dmytrivka, a village 10 10 kilometers west of Kyiv, on April 3, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
The burned body of a Russian soldier inside a Russian APC in Dmytrivka village near Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
A woman stands in front of a destroyed Russian tank in Dmytrivka, a village near Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Stoyanka
The village of Stoyanka is right next to Kyiv's western border, close to Irpin and Dmytrivka. Home to over 500 people, and sitting on the Irpin River, the village was a favored site for middle and high-income Kyiv residents.
Russian troops shelled and bombed the village for days, then rolled in the tanks. To halt Russian advances on the capital, Ukrainian troops destroyed the bridge connecting Stoyanka with Kyiv, cutting once prosperous settlement from Ukrainian-controlled territory for weeks.
A car with the word “children” on the front window photographed on March 31, 2022 in Stoyanka, after being completely destroyed by the Russian troops. (Getty Images)
Ukrainian serviceman walks past the destroyed gas station in Stoyanka, on March 31. (Getty Images)
Two civilians killed in Stoyanka photographed on March 31, 2022. (Getty Images)
A fragment of the yard of a resident of Stoyanka whose house was ruined, photographed on March 31, 2022. (Getty Images)
A woman shows a damaged apple tree in her garden in Stoyanka on March 31, 2022. (Getty Images)
Andriivka
The village of Andriivka, home to over 1,000 people and located 40 kilometers northwest of Kyiv, was under Russian occupation for 34 days. The village had suffered from fighting, with many houses getting damaged or ruined. Local citizens say that the Russians stationed in the village were robbing the houses en masse, stealing flat-screen TVs and valuable home appliances.
A local villager welcomes Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces’ members after they have recovered from the Russian army the Nova Basan village on the eastern of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 01, 2022. (Getty Images)
Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces’ members walk around after they have recovered from the Russian army the Nova Basan village on the eastern of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 01, 2022. (Getty Images)
(Image depicts death) A dead body of Russian soldier is seen after Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces’ members have recovered from the Russian army the Nova Basan village on the eastern of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 01, 2022. (Getty Images)
Elder women weep as they meet with Territorial Defence Forces’ members after they have recovered from the Russian army the Nova Basan village on the eastern of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 01, 2022. (Getty Images)
Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces’ members walk around after they have recovered from the Russian army the Nova Basan village on the eastern of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 01, 2022. (Getty Images)
Buzova
Buzova, a village with a pre-war population of 1,500 people, was completely destroyed by Russian shelling, and later occupied. The U.K. Defense Ministry reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence, that a mass grave with the bodies of killed civilians was uncovered near Buzova after Russian troops had been driven out of the region.
Residents look at a destroyed Russian tank on the outskirts of Buzova village, west of Kyiv, on April 10, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)
A man walks past a destroyed high-rise building in Buzova village in Kyiv Oblast, on April 5, 2022. (Getty Images)
GRAPHIC: Ukrainian men wrap the body of their relative, discovered in a manhole at a petrol station on the outskirts of Buzova, on April 10, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)
A Ukrainian mother reacts after the body of her son was discovered in a manhole at a petrol station on the outskirts of Buzova, on April 10, 2022. Several bodies were discovered in the manhole. (AFP/Getty Images)
A damaged school in Buzova on April 5, 2022. (Getty Images)
Demydiv
Demydiv lies 10 kilometers north of Kyiv and was home to over 3,500 people before Russia launched the invasion. The village is now partly flooded due to the nearby Kyiv Reservoir being damaged by fighting.
Civilians cross the destroyed bridge over the Irpin River and walk the long road to Demydiv and adjacent villages. After the withdrawal of Russian troops from villages in Kyiv Oblast, civilians began returning home. (Getty Images)
A bomb crater and destroyed Russian military vehicles seen in Demydiv, near Kyiv, on April 4, 2022. (Getty Images)
People repair the destroyed bridge over the Irpin River in Demydiv. (Getty Images)
Residents of Demydiv, on April 6, assess the damage done to their neighbor’s house. (Getty Images)
A dog photographed running near a destroyed Russian military vehicle in Demydiv, on April 4, 2022. (Getty Images)
Soldiers of the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, part of the Steel Lions unit, shared footage on Feb. 11 showing a rare Russian Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher being destroyed by drones in the Lyman sector of the front line in Donetsk Oblast.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will visit Ukraine this week to discuss a potential deal between Kyiv and Washington on critical minerals, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 11, citing undisclosed sources.
British fintech company Revolut officially launched its services in Ukraine after a beta testing phase, introducing a special Clear Sky debit card in Ukraine's national blue and yellow colors, the company announced on its website on Feb.11.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he planned to exchange territories if U.S. President Donald Trump succeeds in bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, according to an interview with The Guardian published on Feb. 11.
Chinese refiners are being offered Russian ESPO crude at discounted prices as rising concerns over U.S. sanctions create logistical and administrative challenges, deterring buyers, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 11.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the meeting focused on "the activities of foreign agencies." The last reported meeting of this kind was in December 2022.
Ukraine's parliament voted in favor of buying two Russian-made reactors from Bulgaria for the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Feb. 11.
Transparency International highlighted that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has further entrenched authoritarianism, with the Kremlin suppressing dissent, redirecting resources to its military agenda, and eliminating independent voices.
Seoul further warned that Pyongyang is likely preparing to send additional troops and arms to back Russia's war in Ukraine, confirming earlier warnings by the Ukrainian intelligence.
Keith Kellogg, Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia, reportedly assured European diplomats that NATO allies would be consulted before finalizing any proposal.
A 12-year-old boy was among the injured. Three of the victims have been hospitalized, while the others were provided medical assistance on the spot, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
Russian officials are concerned that the Western sanctions are undermining Russia's economic influence over countries in its close neighborhood and the Global South, the Financial Times reported on Feb. 10, citing a leaked government report.
Overnight, Russia launched 124 Shahed-type combat and decoy drones, according to the Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses successfully shot down 57 drones across 11 oblasts, while 64 others were lost without causing damage.
"The refinery mainly produces gasoline, fuel oil, and diesel fuel. In total, more than 20 types of oil products (are being produced there)," the General Staff said.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Development Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the decision to impose tariffs will naturally affect Ukraine's steel industry.
"The Saratov Oil Refinery is one of the key facilities in Russia's fuel infrastructure. Its refining capacity reaches 7 million tons of oil annually," Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, said.
"They (Ukraine) may make a deal. They may not make a deal... But we’re going to have all this money in (Ukraine) and I say, I want it back," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Lithuania will allocate nearly 32 million euros ($32.9 million) in 2025 to support the education of Ukrainians who have relocated to the country due to the war, Lithuanian broadcaster LRT announced on Feb. 9.
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