Remembering how the unrelenting horror in Ukraine began
As the war rages on, ordinary Ukrainians tell their stories of the early days of the Russian invasion to
It’s been more than two years since Russian troops tried to storm the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in an attempt to capture the country’s government.
For Rostyslav Tsyren, a local journalist and activist, the events of February and March 2022 hold vivid memories. He was one of thousands of ordinary Ukrainians who, on hearing that the Russians were heading towards Kyiv, fled their homes.
We met him at the Romanivka Bridge in Irpin, just 20km outside Kyiv, on what is now known as the Road of Life. The bridge was the only evacuation route for residents of several Russian-occupied settlements in Kyiv Oblast.
Tsyren said that on the second day of the invasion, after realising that the Russians were heading for Kyiv, Ukraine blasted all the bridges around the city to prevent them from entering the city from the north. More than 30 bridges were blown up to stop the Russian advance on the capital, he said.
“The only bridge on which people could cross was here,” he said through an interpreter.
The Russians were stopped about 1km from the bridge. “Nobody expected them to reach this point so quickly. We thought they would start the assault on Kyiv from the Russian border through Chernobyl from the Sumy region, but not through the Belarus border, which is the closest point to get to Kyiv.”
Kyiv is about 120km from the Belarus border, which is about two hours’ drive by tank.
“That’s why it was kind of a catastrophe. People were unprepared, and it created a rush.”
As Russia had been continuously shelling the area, the Ukrainian troops were deployed in a nearby forest, Tsyren said.
“So, as the Russian troops were approaching, people from surrounding villages, who mostly worked in Kyiv, rushed towards the bridge to cross it. There were thousands of people. Some were in their cars, some on bicycles and some on foot with children’s prams. When they saw it was not possible to cross the bridge in cars, people simply left them and crossed on foot,” he recounted.
It is believed about 40,000 locals crossed the bridge to escape the Russian troops before it was destroyed by the Ukrainian army to stop the invaders getting their equipment to the capital.
“I was there. Unfortunately, one family died during that process. But I’m one of 15 volunteers who brought my car to help people cross safely,” Tsyren said.
The Russian troops were pushed back and eventually left the area on March 29 2022.
A new bridge has been built alongside the destroyed one, which Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said should not be repaired so that it can serve as a memorial.
In Borodyanka, a town that was occupied by Russia for 33 days at the beginning of the war, we met historian and author Valentyn Moyseyenko, who wrote a book, Stories of Destruction, Rescue and Survival, about the events of February and March of that year.
Moyseyenko said he watched from his flat as Russian aircraft launched missiles that destroyed a residential building next to his.
“Another bombarding aircraft launched four missiles and destroyed another building. Twentyeight people were immediately killed,” he said, adding that six people have yet to be found.
“I was in my flat with my wife. She is partially disabled. She cannot move freely. That’s why I stayed with her. I looked through the window and saw what was going on,” Moyseyenko said.
“The attack lasted about two minutes. I think everything was finished. They destroyed two buildings, targeted a monument and went away.”
“The aircraft that destroyed the first building returned to bomb the statue of a famed Ukrainian poet on a square outside a cultural centre, and two minutes later the aircraft crashed to the ground, said Moyseyenko.”
At the cultural centre we met Nataliya Vyshinska, head of the department of culture, youth & sports who told us that 18 of the town’s 26 cultural projects had been “totally destroyed” during the occupation.
“We are standing in front of the biggest cultural facility in our city. This used to be the cultural centre and community centre, where people gathered and used it as a club or an information centre,” she said.
“It was considerably destroyed during the occupation. All the windows were broken and everything in it was destroyed, including all the furniture, and the building was partially damaged.”
With the minor repairs they have managed to make, a group of women are able to work from the centre. At the time of our visit, a handful of women were sewing camouflage mesh covers which are used by military personnel at checkpoints.
The community centre also houses a small museum which now exhibits material about the Russian occupation. Its walls are covered with pictures of the destroyed buildings, including those that show the process of demolition. Among the artefacts is a clay vase found in the ruins of the home of one of the museum’s former employees, who has since fled the city due to the invasion.
“This was like a kitchen decoration in this flat. It is from the house of our colleague. The house now is totally destroyed,” said curator Tamara Shekhovtsova.
“We wanted to throw them out, but then we thought we want to show people what Russians wanted to do to us, as proof that it was not a fairy tale; it was not a fantasy but real things produced by Russia. It’s bad memories,” she said.
The museum also showcases ammunition, including packs of bullets left by the Russians. Shekhovtsova says that some of the ammunition is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. But for now it remains on show, for others to learn.