Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast

The Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast was a military occupation that began on the first day of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The capital, Kyiv, was extensively bombed during the invasion, but was never captured. However, many cities were captured near North and western parts of the Oblast.

Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast

Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kyiv Oblast:   Ukrainian territory never occupied   Ukrainian territory liberated from occupation
Date	24 February 2022 – 3 April 2022 (1 month, 1 week and 3 days)
Location	Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Occupation

 

Forms of Soviet passports prepared by Russian forces for residents of Kyiv Oblast (found near Makariv)^[1]

Arrival of Russian forces

Further information: Kyiv offensive (2022)

On 24 February 2022, Russian forces began invading Ukraine with their main target being the capital, Kyiv. Russian forces entered Kyiv Oblast and quickly captured Chernobyl and Pripyat in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.^[2]

By 26 February 2022, Russian forces captured Hostomel, Borodianka, Vorzel and Bucha, and fought a gruesome battle for Antonov airport, which resulted in Russian victory, with battles and clashes ongoing near Irpin and Horenka.^[3]

Kyiv

Further information: Battle of Kyiv (2022)

On the morning of 25 February, three Russian saboteurs, dressed as Ukrainian soldiers, entered Obolon District, 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of the Verkhovna Rada building, the seat of the parliament of Ukraine.^[4][5]

 

Liberated territory in blue (Centered on Kyiv City)

On 27 February, clashes between Ukrainian forces and Russian saboteurs continued. Meanwhile, local officials remained adamant that the city was still under full Ukrainian control.^[6]

On 28 February, a fresh wave of Russian troops advanced towards Kyiv, but little direct combat occurred, and only three missiles were fired at the city that day.^[7] Satellite images revealed the existence of a long column of Russian vehicles heading to Kyiv along a 64-kilometre-long (40 mi) highway approaching Kyiv from the north, and was approximately 39 km (24 mi) from the center of Kyiv.^[8][9]

On the morning of 1 March, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued an evacuation notice to local civilians that they intended to target Ukrainian transmission facilities around Kyiv and that all nearby residents should leave the area.^[10] Hours later, a Russian missile struck the Kyiv TV Tower, killing five people and injuring five others.^[11][12] Vitaly Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv, banned the sales of alcohol in Kyiv while appealing to shop owners and pharmacy chains not to “take advantage” of the situation by raising the prices of "food, essential goods and medicines".^{[13][better source needed]}

On 22 March, Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive to drive the Russians away from the city. Ukrainian forces evacuated thousands of people from nearby suburbs and settlements, including 20,000 people in Boryspil alone, and took back surrounding villages and towns.^[14][15]

Brovary and Lukyanivka

On 10 March, Russian armored vehicles were seen heading towards Brovary, shortly after capturing the town of Lukyanivka.^[16][17]

On 28 March, Ukrainian forces recaptured Lukyanivka and pushed Russian forces out of Brovary. In Lukyanivka, most houses were destroyed and damaged Russian tanks were left on the streets.^[18][19][20]

On 29 March, Russia started to shell the Brovary area. A warehouse was set ablaze and nearby villages sustained heavy damage.^[21]

Ukrainian counteroffensive

On 28 March, Ukrainian forces won the battle of Irpin, and started recapturing many settlements.^[22][23][24]

By 2 April, the Ukrainian military recaptured all of Kyiv Oblast, ending the occupation.^[25][26]

Aftermath

Demining operations

Russian troops scattered mines across areas from where they withdrew and demining operations began, with the United States planning to provide $89,000,000 for demining in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr and Sumy Oblasts.^[27][28]

On 8 May, Yuliya Tymoshenko, people's deputy of Ukraine, announced that demining operations were complete in Kyiv Oblast.^[29][30]

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

In Chernobyl, Russian soldiers stole dangerous radioactive dust and substances from the nuclear power plant's laboratory.^[31][32][33]

War crimes

Borodianka

Russian forces extensively bombed Borodianka, a town near Kyiv. Soldiers used cluster munitions to fire at residential building during the night. They also left mines in civilian areas.^[34][35]

Bucha

Main article: Bucha massacre

When Bucha was under Russian occupation, Russian soldiers raped, tied up and killed civilians in Bucha and left them to die on the streets. When Russian forces withdrew, they left countless tanks in destroyed civilian homes and left the dead bodies lying throughout the town, as well as mines.^[36][37][38] The massacre was widely condemned and many officials, including the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, accused the Russian forces of committing genocide in Bucha.^[39] According to local authorities, 458 bodies have been recovered from the town, including 9 children under the age of 18; among the victims, 419 people were killed with weapons and 39 appeared to have died of natural causes, possibly related to the occupation.^[40]

Irpin

On 6 March 2022, Russian forces shelled an intersection where residents of Irpin were fleeing to Kyiv, resulting in 8 deaths.^[41]

Control of cities

This table is an excerpt from Territorial control during the Russo-Ukrainian War § Kyiv Oblast and Kyiv.[edit]

Name	Pop.	Raion	Held by	As of	More information
Bila Tserkva	208,737	Bila Tserkva	Ukraine	24 Feb 2022
Borodianka	13,044	Bucha	Ukraine^[42]^[43]	1 Apr 2022	See Bombing of Borodianka
Brovary	109,473	Brovary	Ukraine^[44]	1 Apr 2022	See Battle of Brovary
Bucha	36,971	Bucha	Ukraine^[44]	1 Apr 2022	See Battle of Bucha, Bucha massacre Captured by   Russia 12 March 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 31 March 2022.
Buzova	1,548	Bucha	Ukraine^[45]	1 Apr 2022
Chernobyl	2,500	Vyshhorod	Ukraine^[46]	2 Apr 2022	See Capture of Chernobyl Captured by   Russia 24 February 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 2 April 2022.
Dymer	5,817	Vyshhorod	Ukraine^[42]	1 Apr 2022	Captured by   Russia 2 March 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 31 March 2022.
Fastiv	44,841	Fastiv	Ukraine^[47]	17 Mar 2022
Hornostaipil	1,033	Vyshhorod	Ukraine^[48]	3 Apr 2022	Captured by   Russia 24 February 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 1 April 2022.
Hostomel	17,534	Bucha	Ukraine^[45]	1 Apr 2022	See Battle of Hostomel, Battle of Antonov Airport Captured by   Russia 25 February 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 2 April 2022.
Irpin	62,456	Bucha	Ukraine^[49]^[50]	1 Apr 2022	See Battle of Irpin, Irpin refugee column shelling Partially captured by   Russia 14 March 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 28 March 2022.
Ivankiv	10,563	Vyshhorod	Ukraine^[43]^[45]^[42]	1 Apr 2022	See Battle of Ivankiv Captured by   Russia 2 March 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 1 April 2022.
Klavdiievo-Tarasove	5,019	Bucha	Ukraine^[51]	2 Apr 2022	Captured by   Russia in 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 1 April 2022.
Kyiv	2,962,180	none^[a]	Ukraine^[52]	28 Feb 2022	See Battle of Kyiv, Kyiv shopping centre bombing, Kyiv missile strikes
Makariv	9,589	Bucha	Ukraine^[44]	1 Apr 2022	Captured by   Russia 28 February 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 2 March 2022.
Nemishaieve	7,841	Bucha	Ukraine^[48]	3 Mar 2022
Obukhiv	33,443	Obukhiv	Ukraine	24 Feb 2022
Shevchenkove	2,913	Brovary	Ukraine^[53]	1 Apr 2022
Slavutych	24,685	Vyshhorod	Ukraine^[54]	3 Apr 2022	Geographically within Chernihiv Oblast See Battle of Slavutych Captured by   Russia 26 March 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 3 April 2022.
Vasylkiv	37,310	Obukhiv	Ukraine^[55]	26 Feb 2022	See Battle of Vasylkiv
Velyka Dymerka	9,461	Brovary	Ukraine	1 Apr 2022	Captured by   Russia in 2022. Recaptured by   Ukraine 1 April 2022.
Vorzel	6,766	Bucha	Ukraine^[56]	1 Apr 2022
Vyshhorod	22,933	Vyshhorod	Ukraine^[57]	7 Mar 2022

See also

• Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine
  • Russian occupation of Crimea
  • Russian occupation of Chernihiv Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava Oblasts
  • Russian occupation of Donetsk Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Kharkiv Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Luhansk Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Mykolaiv Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Sumy Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
  • Russian occupation of Zhytomyr Oblast
  • Snake Island campaign
• Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
• Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts

Notes

1. City with special status

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