He says he counted 240 blows in three weeks, which left the houses in his village crumbling and their yards full of deep holes. “In 1941 we were bombed by the Germans [the same place]”My grandmother said,” Lopata, 53, told CBC News. “They completely repeated the path of the Nazis – exactly the same fascists who came here in 1941, but [now] they are Russians. “ It is just a 25-minute drive from Lopata’s house in Irpin in central Kiev, which is why the Irpin River and the city on its banks were so strategically important to the Ukrainian army that Russian troops paraded in the Ukrainian capital. last month. “I did not run away, so that my grandchildren would not say ‘grandfather is gone,’” Lopata said. “I got a gun.” Many of the houses in the Irpin suburb of Kiev are too dilapidated to ever be rebuilt. (Stephanie Jenzer / CBC)
A former sergeant of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lopata says that because he knew how to shoot a rifle, he helped the soldiers from the territorial defense unit that guarded the city. He claims to have shot and killed at least one Russian soldier he came across. Lopata was one of the few people who remained in his village during the month of heavy fighting. But with Russian forces now exiled from the Kiev region, more people are returning to try to get their lives back on track. CLOCKS The Ukrainians are trying to rebuild their communities as the war moves east:

The Russians are reorganizing, the Ukrainians are rebuilding as the front lines of the war move east

People in the recently liberated regions of Ukraine near Kyiv are reconnecting their lives and ties with the rest of the country, even though the first line of the Russian invasion is moving east towards the Donbas region. 2:36
But they are doing so despite the advice of Ukrainian authorities, who are urging those who have left to stay away.
There are indications that Russia is ready to launch a new, major offensive in the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine at any time, and authorities in Kyiv and surrounding areas remain on high alert. The attack could come with renewed airstrikes and security threats in the capital and its suburbs, and senior Ukrainian ministers warned on Wednesday that the capital’s area was not yet ready to return civilians.

“We will see an aggressive action”

Before the war, Kyiv had a population of almost three million, but most have since taken refuge in safer places in Western Ukraine or other European countries. “We will see an aggressive action that will include all aspects [Russia’s] “Army – sea, sky and land”, said Emine Dzhepar, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, in an interview at its headquarters in Kyiv. “There will be rockets, possibly ballistic missiles and Kalibr [cruise] missiles, artillery, bombings, bombings and landmines “. Dzhepar believes that “our military forces are strong enough” and that “this military operation will determine his future. [peace] negotiations.” Just minutes down the road from Irpin is Bucha, where war crimes prosecutors have exhumed a mass grave behind a church. The mayor of the city said on Tuesday that the bodies of 403 civilians have been found so far. Many, if not most, appear to have been deliberately shot or killed by Russian forces. Ukrainian soldiers pose for a photo near a damaged bridge in Irpin on April 1. (Gleb Garanich / Reuters)
On March 30, Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said the death toll in his hometown was probably lower than in Bucha – but not by much. Markushyn said between 200 and 300 civilians were killed when Russia tried to seize the city. A daily analysis of the conflict by the Washington-based Institute for War Studies said Russia was working hard to try to “rebuild” its forces, which withdrew from the Kiev region after the failed attack. Ukraine claims Russia has lost nearly 20,000 troops and hundreds of tanks since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, although Western analysts say the actual number is probably closer than half that. Nevertheless, Russia could still bring a huge force to eastern Ukraine.

“Everything is just pain”

Ukraine’s best and most experienced troops have been heavily fortified at key positions around cities such as Donetsk. According to the analysis of the Institute for War Studies, Russia is expected to try to use its advantage with tanks and mechanized infantry to try to encircle a huge number of these troops, to force the Ukrainians to leave the trenches. and their warehouses to escape. Many in the Kiev region fear that Russia may not have finished with the capital yet and could launch another attack on Kiev depending on what is happening in Donbas. Despite this possibility, some residents of the Irpin River whose homes survived the Russian attack decided to try to reunite their lives, despite the advice to stay away. “I’m repairing my house as best I can,” said Victor Novik, an Irpin resident in his 50s. “It’s just pain – it’s hard on my soul.” Viktor Novyk has returned to his home in Irpin, but has no gas, electricity or running water at the moment. To get water, he has to go to a well at the end of the road. (Stephanie Jenzer / CBC)
Novyk’s simple brick house on Novo-Irpinskya Street lost its glass in some windows, but miraculously survived significant structural damage, unlike most of its neighbors’s houses. He, his wife and his 83-year-old mother were sheltered for more than two weeks in the basement of their home as Russian and Ukrainian troops fired artillery shells at their heads.
Eventually, Novyk’s family left to stay with friends, but returned home a few days ago, although the restoration of electricity and running water is likely to be weeks away.
However, Novyk says his wife has already cleared the flower garden, where new tulips are about to bloom. “We will repair slowly,” said Victor Novik. “Who knows, maybe someone will help us.”

“Most of the time we were in our basement”

A few doors down, Larissa Pasieka, 48, greeted the CBC with a huge smile, though looking at the damage around her property, it was clear she was lucky she was only alive. Larysa Pasyeka survived the Russian bombing and is back in the Irpin neighborhood. (Stephanie Jenzer / CBC)
She said an artillery shell hit her yard and demolished the wooden building that housed her sauna, or banya. Next door, another huge round hit her neighbors’ house, killing the two people inside. “Most of the time we were in our basement,” Pasieka said. “But there were some quiet moments when we could go up to the yard and make soup for them. [Ukrainian] troops”. Earlier this week, before authorities issued a warning to stay away from the area, construction crews completed the construction of a temporary bridge over the Irpin River to replace one that had to be destroyed by the Ukrainian army to stop the Russian advance. At the height of the battle, there were shocking scenes of residents trying to evacuate Irpin crawling over the debris of the bridge. People cross the Irpin River next to a damaged bridge as they are evacuated from the city on March 10. (Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters)
With a new crossing, it will be much easier for people to cross the river to return to their homes on the other side – once the authorities give the green light. Andriy Levchenko, the national guard in charge of rehabilitating the crossing, says restoring traffic will help people cope with the stress of the conflict. Construction crews are completing the construction of a new temporary bridge over the Irpin River. (Stephanie Jenzer / CBC)
“In this city, there are a lot of peaceful, normal, young, very promising people who would like to live normal lives and should be able to return home,” he said. “This temporary bridge is one of the first beams of light from a dark tunnel and is very important to every Ukrainian.”