“There were mortars so strong that they were terrifying even in the cellar,” Valeriy Hudym told Reuters on Sunday, two days after Ukrainian troops took control of Lukyanivka in a five-hour battle with the Russians. “Tanks were firing, artillery and machine guns. “Everything that was possible was there.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register More than a month after the Russian invasion, the defense of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv took place in fierce battles in places such as Lukyanivka and the nearby town of Brovary in the east, Irpin and Bucha in the northwest and Makariv in the west. When writing stories, such cities and villages may be small details, but they are where the Russian advance has stopped. Moscow promised at peace talks in Istanbul on Tuesday that it would drastically reduce operations around Kyiv to facilitate dialogue. In Lukyanivka, a two-hour drive from central Kiev, residents recall warning Russian troops occupying their settlement to leave as soon as possible. “I have a neighbor called Svitlana.” “You will be killed here,” Hudim said. The upheaval was repeated in areas around the northern half of the capital, as Ukrainian troops regained territory lost in the first month of fighting in small battles, without a decisive victory. “The Russians do not have the strength to move forward and (the Ukrainians) do not have the strength to push them back to the border,” said Serhiy Zgurets, director of the Defense Express consulting firm. The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the military situation around Kyiv. But small victories have dealt a psychological blow to a more powerful enemy and have shown how agile units with knowledge of the area can defend the lines and even repel them, according to military experts. They also serve strategic purposes – to keep Russian artillery away from the city center and prevent the invading army from completely encircling Kyiv, experts said. Cities such as Kharkiv and Mariupol have come under heavy bombardment as Russian ground forces cease – part of what the Pentagon and other Western military officials describe as a sign of Russian frustration with the lack of progress. Kyiv has also been hit by shells and rockets, and at least 264 civilians have been killed, according to city officials. But the scale of the disaster, especially in the city center, is much smaller. Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operation” aimed at demilitarizing its neighbor. He denied that he was targeting civilians. In Luhanyivka, Ukrainian soldiers drove out two apparently useful Russian heavy tanks captured during the fighting. “We have beaten the Russians. The Russians are now moving a few kilometers away,” said Marat Saifulin, from the Ukrainian “Brotherhood Battalion” that took part in the recapture of the village in an attack that lasted from noon to dusk. BACK AND RESISTANCE CIA Director William Burns said in early March that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention was to occupy Kyiv within two days of the start of the February 24 invasion. Putin and Russian officials have repeatedly stated that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has proceeded according to plan. However, two early failures showed that it would not be easy to sail an available Russian force estimated by some diplomats before the war at about 190,000 troops. Russia has not provided data on its development in Ukraine. Russian paratroopers attacked Hostomel Airport, a possible bridgehead northwest of Kiev, on the first day of the invasion and reportedly captured it. But fierce fighting there prevented a decisive victory, reports add. Satellite images also captured a huge column of military equipment that spans 40 miles (64 km) and comes from a similar direction. Considered by some Western defense officials a major threat to Kyiv in the early days of the war, it was largely dispersed on March 10, with some vehicles spreading to surrounding cities. A senior US defense official said in early March that Russia’s advance on Kyiv, including the convoy, appeared to be delayed due to logistical problems such as food and fuel shortages and low morale in some units. Attacks by small units of Ukrainian troops on advancing columns of tanks, in some cases using shoulder-mounted anti-tank weapons sent from abroad, have also been a factor in hampering Russia’s military machine. To the east, in Brovary, an escort of Russian tanks was repulsed after much was destroyed in an ambush recorded in dramatic drone footage released by pro-Ukrainian forces. North of Bucha, near Irpin, the mayor filmed scenes of burning tanks and armored vehicles still burning after a fierce attack. In Irpin, Ukrainian forces destroyed a large bridge connecting the northwestern cities with Kyiv as a way to stop the enemy’s advance. On Monday, the mayor of Irpin said Ukraine was in full control again. Reuters could not immediately confirm his claim. The result of a flexible defense strategy and Russian shortcomings has been no significant progress in Kyiv for several days. In the city, where only half the population of 3.4 million in peacetime remains, there are signs of normal life returning to the streets, with some shops, restaurants and cinemas opening and people enjoying the spring sun in the parks. Hopes that the immediate threat to the capital could subside were fueled last week by the head of the General Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff. He said that the first phase of the operation in Ukraine has been largely completed and that Russian forces will henceforth focus on the Donbas region in the east. This appeared to be in line with Western intelligence estimates that Russian forces had abandoned, at least for the time being, their active effort to occupy Kyiv after heavy losses and unexpectedly persistent Ukrainian defenses. PAID PENSIONS, POOR ETHICS On many roads leading out of Kyiv, damaged houses and debris show the price paid by those who decided to stay. Gas and electricity are often cut off and there is no certainty about when and where the next rocket may land. In the village of Krasylivka, 92-year-old Hanna Yevdokimova said the invasion was her third conflict since the Soviet-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 and World War II, when she saw German troops passing through the village. Last week, her home was hit by rocket-propelled grenades. A twisted fragment of a Russian Kalibr missile was 100 meters (328 feet) away in a neighbor’s garden. “What can I do? All I want is to rebuild so I can die at home,” he said. Some residents of Lukyanivka said they spent almost a month under Russian occupation as virtual detainees in their homes, their mobile phones were confiscated and movement was allowed only under armed escort. Now they can come and go as they please in houses that have been severely damaged. Near Makarev west of Kiev, which is still disputed, heavy bombardment was heard last week. Even so, Mayor Vadym Tokar traveled to the surrounding villages wearing military uniforms and distributing pensions to the elderly. Farmer Vasyl Chaylo, from Peremoha, described what he said were frightened Russian conscripts who had no portions and were disciplined by tougher professional fighters. “They are scared. In my observation, some of them may not want to fight and want to surrender, but they are being held in line by special forces,” he said. Chaylo added that he had asked the tank crews who set up outside his house how long their dry portions would last and they told him a week. “They came to us on the eighth day and said that they had nothing to eat.” Russia’s Defense Ministry has acknowledged that some conscripts have taken part in the conflict, following previous denials by the Kremlin and military authorities. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Halyna Shybka, a former nurse at a military hospital in Kyiv for 25 years, ignored her grandchildren’s pleas and stays with her husband Mykola at home in Kalynivka, near the front line of Brovary, where they have lived since 1974. “They tried to persuade us in every way to leave with them, but I wanted to stay,” she said, throwing cups of tea in her kitchenette, while in the background the sound of the outgoing Ukrainian artillery was buzzing. “This is our land, we are not going to leave.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Editing by Mike Collett-White Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
