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)
The fire is reportedly located near a Gazprom gas station and the Sarepta railway station, several kilometers from the refinery. The drone attack is ongoing.
"I think we've had some very good results. I haven't been able to say that to anybody else, I haven't wanted to say it until just before I came here, I got some pretty good news."
A German parliamentary coalition has agreed to allocate 3 billion euros (approximately $3.2 billion) in new military aid to Ukraine as part of a plan to dramatically scale up Berlin's defense spending, incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on March 14.
The group’s communiqué, released on March 14, affirmed Ukraine’s "territorial integrity and right to exist," while condemning Russian "acts of aggression." However, its language was softer than the G7 leaders' statement from November 2024.
Russian troops attacked a residential area in Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with ballistic missiles, Governor Serhii Lysak said. Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, remains a frequent target of Russian missile attacks.
"There is reason to be cautiously optimistic, but by the same token, we continue to recognize this is a difficult and complex situation," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 14.
Previously, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said that Ukraine-U.S. talks included discussions about potential "territorial concessions" as part of a negotiated settlement with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 14 that Ukrainian soldiers must surrender in Kursk Oblast after U.S. President Donald Trump's request to "spare" the troops he claimed are surrounded. Ukraine denied claims that the country's troops are surrounded at any part of the front.
Germany braces for major changes as incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to reshape the country’s role on the continent. The Kyiv Independent sat down with Jörn Fleck, senior director with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, to discuss what the new German government means for Ukraine and beyond.
The General Staff said that Russia had been reporting an alleged encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast "for political purposes and to put pressure on Ukraine and its partners."
"At this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position," U.S. President Donald Trump wrote, without providing any evidence.
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