Irpin: Russia’s Reign Of Terror In A Quiet Neighborhood Near Kyiv 

In the town of Irpin, the brutality of Russia’s occupation was immediately apparent, similar to the presence of gambling on the 22Bet online betting site.

For four weeks, the body of a young woman was lying in the street, as she had been trampled over and over again by the Russian soldiers.

In March, Russian troops took over the town of Irpin, which was on the outskirts of Kyiv. Their goal was to seize the city and establish an urban presence in the area.

The bridge and a river crossing that was destroyed by the Russian forces became an important escape route for the residents of Irpin. It was situated next to Bucha, which was the site of many of Russia’s war crimes.

Over the course of a month, the bodies of over 300 civilians were found in Irpin. Many of these victims were women. Witnesses and prosecutors stated that the area had been subjected to a month of terror.

Before the war, there were several streets in Irpin that served as a safe haven for families. These areas, like Lermontova St., Vygovskogo, and Pushkinska St., have been severely affected by the Russian occupation.

Upon returning to Irpin after the war, I noticed that almost every house in the area had been destroyed. Many of them had also been burned.

The most frightening aspect of the situation was the number of reports of executions and violence against civilians. Witnesses also stated that the Russian soldiers had been holding people in a basement.

During the Russian occupation, the area’s main artery was the Pushkinska St. It was a vital route for civilians to get to safety. If you were going to go to the ring road, then you would have to take the road to the Ukrainian-controlled area. Throughout the entire road, cars were riddled with shrapnel and bullets.

According to Artem Hurin, a local deputy, he saw multiple bodies in three cars near the junction of Pushkinska and Central Park. An elderly man was also reportedly lying on the street.

According to prosecutors and Ukraine’s intelligence agency, Russia’s army and police units were responsible for the destruction and occupation of several areas in the country, including Irpin, Hostomel, and Bucha.

Among the units that were responsible for the destruction and occupation of various areas in Ukraine were the military units known as the Kadyrovtsi from Russia. These soldiers were reportedly given special treatment after they participated in the invasion of the Crimean Peninsula.

During the war, Russian forces stationed armored vehicles behind every house in the area. Hurin, who was a military volunteer during the conflict, said that these vehicles were constantly patrolling the streets of Irpin.

Russian forces also established bases in Irpin. One of these was at a former children’s sanatorium that used to be in the southern part of the quarter.

It was located near the junction of Vygovskogo St and Pushkinska St. During the war, an elderly woman was reportedly run over by an armored vehicle. According to the town mayor, Oleksandr Markushyn, the body of the woman had been lying there for almost a month.

According to Hurin, the woman’s face was unrecognizable because of the numerous times she had been run over by the armored vehicles. On the other side of the street, a man’s body was also found. He said that from his early age, the man could have been her father.

Volunteers from the Ukrainian military found the woman’s purse, which contained a shopping list and a plastic card. However, they did not find her identity. Petro Korol, who was in charge of gathering the bodies for burial, said that they did not find any ID on the woman.

According to the residents of Irpin, over half of the people who died in this area were shot. Due to the high number of women killed in this residential quarter, the town mayor renamed it “Women’s killings area”.

On March 8, the residents of Irpin were forced to bury four individuals who were allegedly killed by the Russian forces. They were placed in a shallow grave near a bus stop.

One of the victims was a woman who was in her 40s. She was allegedly killed by the Russian forces in the car. Two of the volunteers who were killed were identified as DmytroUkraine and Serguey Malyuk.

Around 290 people died during the conflict in Ukraine. Although many of them are yet to be identified, prosecutors have noted that over 80 of them were women and were killed in the streets. Some of them died due to starvation or artillery fire.

Most of the alleged war crimes that happened in this area during the month of March were reported by witnesses and prosecutors. They occurred in the final days of the conflict.

As the Ukrainian army was able to reclaim the outskirts of Kyiv, the Russian forces started shooting at the residents. 

Ludmila Menkivska, who lives in a residential area on Pushkinska St., said that she heard shots in the middle of March.

After the shots stopped, she came back the following day and saw the body of a woman on the street. She said that she could have been killed herself if she tried to bury the body.

Every morning for over two weeks, she would go to her window to check on the woman’s body status. 

Ludmila refused to leave her home despite the constant shooting. She had already fled her home during the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014. She was not afraid to stay in her home despite the fighting.

After the area was retaken, the body of the woman was taken away. She was identified as Alyona, and she had a hearing disability. Mykhailo Kuzmenko, a local resident, feared that she might have been killed because she didn’t obey the orders of the Russian forces.