Battle of Hostomel | |||||||
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Part of the Kyiv offensive and the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||
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 | |||||||
National Guard of Ukraine HUR MOU[1]
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The battle of Hostomel was the first major battle in the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[4] fought for control over the town of Hostomel between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces. As part of the Kyiv offensive, 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] Due to the intensity of the Kyiv offensive, the Kyiv Oblast State Administration named Hostomel, along with Irpin, Bucha, Highway M06, and Vyshhorod 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 command and control by the Ukrainian government. 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, Russian forces not only withdrew from Hostomel but from all of Kyiv Oblast at the start of April during the peace negotiations which Putin claimed was as gesture. [8][9][10]
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