This is what Irpin looks like – or what is left of it – just days after Ukrainian forces ousted it from Russian control.
The area is still extremely dangerous and remains out of bounds for civilians. As fighting continues in the neighboring areas of Bucha and Hostomel, Irpin is still in range for Russian artillery.
CNN received rare access to the city from Ukrainian forces on Thursday.
We pass snakes in Irpin through dirt roads in the middle of the forest that separates the suburb from Kyiv at breakneck speed.
“It’s safer that way,” explains Andriy, the 29-year-old Ukrainian soldier who leads us. “It’s the best way to avoid Russian artillery.”
Beyond the Irpin River, the devastation caused by a month-long skirmish between Russian and Ukrainian forces is everywhere. There are few unbreakable windows, fallen trees in almost every corner and there is no shortage of damaged or damaged military equipment. Most of it is Russian.
The majority of the city’s residents have fled, but Ivan Boyko decided to stay. He sent most of his family away, to safety, choosing to endure the hell of a Russian attack.
“I’m 66, I’m not afraid anymore,” he says.
Despite living in Irpin, Boyko has been forced to move from his home to a bomb shelter due to all the heavy bombardment.
“It is impossible to go home,” he explains. “They shoot every night and day. It’s scary to go out.”
“People brought what they had to the bomb shelter,” he added.
After days of heavy bombardment, Irpin is terribly quiet, the silence being broken only by sporadic shots in the distance. It looks like a ghost town.
Authorities here are using the opportunity to retrieve the bodies of those killed in recent weeks. Less than 24 hours ago, they were forced to stop due to a Russian attack.
“Our police team, which retrieved corpses, was shot in the head,” the Kyiv region police chief told reporters in Irpin on Thursday. “They lay under the bridge for an hour, waiting for it to stop.”
“The enemy is acting dirty. It can fire from a distance of up to 7 kilometers (about 4.3 miles),” he added.
A few blocks away we meet 51-year-old Volodymyr Rudenko. Born and raised in Irpin, he patrols the city with military fatigue and an AK-47 in his hands.
“I grew up here. I have practically not left Irpin since 1975. Now it is my duty to defend it,” he says.
He took up arms when the Russians invaded and refused to leave – even when they took part in control of the city.
“I have not left Irpin since the first day of the war, not a single day,” says Rudenko.
“It was very difficult. There were very strong attacks,” he explains. “… there were 348 hits in one area in just one hour.”
The savagery of these bombings is fully displayed here and it is difficult to see how any of the more than 60,000 inhabitants of the city could return soon. Most buildings have either been destroyed or irreparably damaged.
According to local authorities, about 50% of critical infrastructure has been destroyed.
Irpin is now under full Ukrainian control, but some Russian agents remain in the area. Local authorities are organizing search teams for the remaining Russian soldiers.
Mayor Oleksandr Markushin leads one of the special forces units in charge of this work.
“We are working. There is information that there are two Russian soldiers dressed in civilian clothes,” said Markushin.
“With our team, we will clean them up,” he added.
After a few hours, we drive off the same dirt roads, hoping to avoid the Moscow artillery.
It was a good day for Andriy and his fellow soldiers, with far fewer fights in and around Irpin.
“The Russians are retreating,” he says.
The recapture of the city has lifted everyone’s spirits and Andriy believes that the Ukrainians will not stop there.
“My 29th birthday is in a few weeks,” he says. “I hope we have beaten them by then.”
