Battle of Hostomel
| Battle of Hostomel | |||||||
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| Part of the northern front of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||
.jpg) Russian casualties and damaged armoured vehicles in the aftermath of the battle on 4 March in Hostomel | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ukraine | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
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During the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[4] a military engagement was fought for control over the town of Hostomel between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces. As part of an offensive on Kyiv, the Russian forces sought control over Hostomel, Bucha and Irpin in order to encircle and besiege the Ukrainian capital city Kyiv from the west.[5][6] The Kyiv Oblast State Administration would later name Hostomel, along with Irpin, Bucha, Highway M06, and the northern part of Vyshhorod Raion as the most dangerous places in Kyiv Oblast.[7]
The Russian plans had been to quickly advance on and attack Kyiv, which would have disrupted Ukraine's command and control. Forces sent were insufficient to capture such a large city unless there was a political collapse. While the Russians were able to capture the airport, they were unable to use it to establish an airbridge. The fighting in and around Hostomel has been described as a decisive moment in the early stages of the invasion. It prevented the Russians from quickly taking control of Ukraine. Having failed to achieve their operational objective, in early April the Russian forces not only withdrew from Hostomel, but from all of Kyiv Oblast, as part of what they called a "goodwill gesture".[8][9][10]
Prelude
On 24 February 2022, Russian airborne forces arrived via helicopters and battled Ukrainian forces for control of the Hostomel Airport. Ukrainian forces initially evicted the Russian airborne troops from the airport, but were soon engaged by Russian reinforcements. On 25 February 2022, the Russian forces re-captured the Hostomel Airport from the Ukrainians. As a result, the battle shifted from the airport to the nearby town as the Russian forces began to establish a foothold in Hostomel and press their advance.[11][12]
Battle
25–28 February 2022
Following the battle of the airport, Ukrainian and Russian ground forces began to engage each other in and around Hostomel later.[12] Videos posted on social media showed a Russian tank column burning in the outskirts of the town and Ukrainian Mi-24s firing rockets at Russian positions over a residential area.[11] Kadyrovites were reported to have moved into the outskirts of the town or into the airport in preparations to assassinate the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Security Service of Ukraine reported that the Kadyrovites convoy consisted of over 250 pieces of equipment and more than 1,500 of the "best fighters of the Chechen Republic". Ukrainian intelligence stated they received these reports from elements of the FSB who oppose the invasion.[13][14] The Irpin Bridge was destroyed on the same day, cutting off Kyiv from its western suburbs.[15]
On 26 February 2022, acting on the earlier intelligence report, Ukrainian forces intercepted and destroyed a Chechen strike group tasked with assassinating President Zelenskyy. Elsewhere, Ukrainian UAVs spotted two locations near Hostomel where the Chechen fighters were assembling. The Ukrainian National Guard and Alpha Group later attacked those locations, destroying a column of Russian armored vehicles in the process. The Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed 56 tanks in the convoy and to have killed hundreds of Chechen fighters in these attacks.[16] Also, according to Ukrainian officials, Magomed Tushayev, a Chechen Lieutenant Colonel and head of the 141st Motorized Regiment of the National Guard of Russia, was killed during the attack.[13][14][17][18][19] Ukrainian forces reported that the Kadyrovites sustained heavy casualties as a result of these attacks.[13][14] By 28 February 2022, the Ukrainians had reported that several hundred Chechen fighters had died in Hostomel so far.[20]
1–5 March 2022
Residents of Hostomel reported constant shelling and airstrikes by Russian forces had deprived them of water, food, electricity, and medicine. The constant bombardment also prevented the residents from receiving humanitarian aid, evacuating from the town, or even removing corpses from the street. Kadyrovites were reported operating closer to the Hostomel Airport and were robbing residents, while Russian soldiers were pressing their advance into Hostomel. Eyewitnesses reported Russian soldiers firing on an ambulance.[21]
On 3 March 2022, Ukrainian forces engaged Russian forces in urban combat inside Hostomel.[22][23] The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (GUR MO) reported that special forces under their command and local resistance had destroyed 20 Russian BMDs (likely BMD-2 and/or BMD-4) in Hostomel. Ten of the BMDs were destroyed at 18:30 (6:30 p.m.) near the town's glass factory.[24][25][26][27][28] The Russian forces were ultimately repelled from the town. A video published on social media depicting the aftermath of the urban battle showed destroyed and abandoned Russian vehicles and dead Russian soldiers sprawled across the streets.[22][23] A Ukrainian sniper killed Major general Andrei Sukhovetsky either in Hostomel or at the Hostomel Airport. He was the deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army.[29][30]
On 4 March 2022, Ukrainian forces engaged Russian forces in the streets a second time, reportedly destroying a BMD and bombarding Russian forces with BM-21 Grad rockets.[31] Elsewhere in Hostomel, Ukrainian soldiers defeated a unit of Kadyrovites, seizing their weapons, equipment, and armored vehicle.[32] Ukrainian forces later reported to have regained control of Hostomel from the Russian forces. Ukrainian intelligence reported that the Russian 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade suffered at least 50 dead from the battles in Hostomel. Special forces under the GUR MO, the 3rd Special Purpose Regiment, and local resistance fighters were reported to have taken part in the battle. Russian weapons, equipment, and staff and personal documents were seized by the Ukrainian military, with any usable weapons being redistributed to the local resistance. The GUR MO reported that the deceased Russian soldiers did not possess any identification documents; only vaccination certifications and blank medical books.[1] On the same day, Ukrainian forces reported that Major