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 European Union is launching the Ukraine2EU program worth 16.7 million euros ($18 million) to support to support Ukraine’s preparation for EU membership, officials announced on April 1.
"The dominating view in the United States Senate is that Russia is the aggressor, and that this horrific war and Putin’s aggression must end now and be deterred in the future," the press release on April 1 said.
"As for this agreement and the NATO question, there is no mention of NATO in this agreement, and there never was," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 1.
"As far as we can see, there is no place in (the U.S. proposals) today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed on April 1.
"(W)e will hold a meeting on Friday, there will be a meeting of our military teams among several countries, a narrow circle of countries. Those who will be ready to deploy a contingent in one form or another," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 1.
On April 1, the Kremlin showed footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, saying he was "very happy" to see him in the Russian capital.
"The list of violations cited by [Defense Minister] Andrei Belousov at the Security Council meeting, we handed over to U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"So, in purpose to cut this trend, in purpose to stop this scenario, we have to show and introduce the hard measures sooner than later," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.
Despite the slowdown, Russian forces continue offensive operations, particularly in Donetsk Oblast's Pokrovsk sector, where fighting intensified at the end of March.
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sat down with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys during his visit to Kyiv on April 1 to discuss the future of Europe during U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, whether European sanctions remain an effective instrument to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine, and Lithuania's contribution to the "coalition of the willing."
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the funds would support Ukraine's macroeconomic stability, adding that total financial assistance under the Ukraine Facility has now reached 19.6 billion euros ($21.1 billion).
Donald Trump previously threatened to impose additional tariffs against Russia, threatening a "25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil."
Russia takes U.S. proposals for a ceasefire in Ukraine "seriously" but cannot accept them "as they are now," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with Russian outlet International Affairs Journal published on April 1.
The cybercriminals used malware developed considering the specifics of the Ukrainian Railways' infrastructure, a Ukrainian cybersecurity official said.
The state-owned Russian railway operator described the incident as a "massive DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack," saying that efforts to restore operations are underway.
