Ukrainians Have Retaken Irpin From The Russian Invaders. But It's A City That Now Lies In Ruins

*Irpin, Ukraine (CNN) . A child's doll lies curb side, covered in dirt and debris, in the war-torn Kyiv suburb of Irpin.

There's not a sign of the child who owned it, or of any of the residents of the building next to it, which was shattered to pieces after taking a direct hit from Russian artillery.

This is what Irpin -- or what's left of it -- looks like, just a couple of days after Ukrainian forces took it back from Russian control.
The area is still extremely dangerous and remains off limits to civilians. As fighting continues in the nearby areas of Bucha and Hostomel, Irpin is still well within range for Russian artillery.

CNN was granted rare access to the city by Ukrainian forces on Thursday.
We snake our way to Irpin through dirt roads in the middle of the forest that separates the suburb from Kyiv at breakneck speed.

"It's safer this way," Andriy, the 29-year-old Ukrainian soldier driving us explains. "It's the best way of avoiding Russian artillery."
Across the Irpin river, the destruction caused by a month of confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian forces is everywhere. There are few unbroken windows, fallen trees in nearly every corner and no shortage of broken down or destroyed military equipment. Most of it is Russian.

The majority of the town's residents have fled, but Ivan Boyko decided to stay. He sent most of his family away, to safety, opting to endure the inferno of the Russian offensive.
"I am 66 years old, I'm not afraid anymore," he says.
Despite staying in Irpin, Boyko has been forced to move out of his house and into a bomb shelter because of all the intense shelling.
"It's impossible to go home," he explains. "Every night and day they shoot. It's scary to go out."
"People brought all they have to the bomb shelter," he adds.

After days of intense shelling, Irpin is eerily quiet, the silence only broken by sporadic gunfire in the distance. It looks like a ghost town.
Authorities here are using the opportunity to recover bodies of those killed in previous weeks. Less than 24 hours ago, they had to stop because of a Russian attack.

"Our police group, which was recovering cadavers, was fired upon with mortars," the Chief of Police for the Kyiv region told journalists in Irpin on Thursday. "They were lying under the bridge for an hour, waiting for it to stop."
"The enemy is acting dirtily. It can fire shots from a distance of up to 7 kilometers (around 4.3 miles)," he adds.

A few blocks away we meet 51-year-old Volodymyr Rudenko. Born and raised in Irpin, he is patrolling the town in military fatigues and an AK-47 in his hands.

"I grew up here. I practically haven't left Irpin since 1975. Now it's my duty to defend it," he says.
He picked up arms when the Russians invaded and refused to leave -- even when they took partial control of the town.
"I haven't left Irpin since the first day of the war, not even for a single day," Rudenko says.
"It was very hard. There were very strong attacks," he explains. "...there were 348 impacts in one area in a single hour."

The ferocity of those bombings is on full display here and it is hard to see how any of the more than 60,000 of the town's residents could return anytime soon. Most buildings are either destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

According to local authorities, around 50% of the critical infrastructure has been destroyed.

Irpin is now under full Ukrainian control, but some Russian operatives remain in the area. Local authorities are organizing search parties for Russian soldiers who remain.

Mayor Oleksandr Markushin is leading one of the special forces units tasked with that job.
"We are working. There is information that there are two Russian soldiers dressed in civilian clothes," Markushin says.
"With our group, we are going to clean them up," he adds.

After a few hours, we drive out through the same dirt paths, hoping to avoid Moscow's artillery.
It's been a good day for Andriy and his fellow soldiers, with a lot less fighting in and around Irpin.

"The Russians are retreating," he says.
Retaking the town has lifted everyone's spirits and Andriy has faith Ukrainians won't stop there.
"My 29th birthday is in a few weeks," he says. "I hope we'll have beaten them by then."

CNN

Nothing sweet about war, it is always no victor, no vanguished.

Y

Imagine see as mayor de lead for front line

Imagine see as mayor de lead for front line

While in Nigeria,generals don’t even lead

Ukraine is winning the war surprisingly

Lmao. The Russians simply withdrew from there.

Captured if withdraw?
Una no serious

why do i have this feeling that Russia knows what dey are doing, just like every game.....keep your opponent busy with what does not count and hit the jackpot, Mind you Russia is not fight just ukrain but USA by proxy the entire Europe...Abeg Russia is a continent...if even they loss its the guts for me.. to dare the almighy USA.... my ppl enjoy as visit my small blog naija dj mix .com

Good moves ,USA is giving their citizens some sòoth of palliatives to cushion the effects of increase in gas ,while putin is doing all his best to destroy the wealth of his country billionaires like the Chelsea owner Abramovic and other oligarchs yet some clowns here is supporting a murderer who is killing his relatives nearby in the hope of getting at the faraway west and America ��, this clowns forgot that the world is a global village. Even in smallest way this war will affect the economy of the world .but clowns on this forum with the knowledge of the kind of useless government we have here, who will rather increase the sufferings of masses and blame it on the war will rather support putin ,well the impending sufferings in this country will surely reset una brain ..a murderer is killing human beings unjustly for a useless reason ..human beings, he is not capable of creating and u guys are supporting him, any one who kills or support a murderer have lost his humanity..as u kill others so u are killing yourself slowly

Old news

Putin humiliated again, it would b difficult for Russia to sustain the war, they don't have the resources and numbers for a long war. Meanwhile Ukrainians are ready to fight till only God knows cos it there land, they are ready to defend their land till death. Putin wasn't expecting such resistance, also the West are massively supplying weapons to Ukraine, tell me how Putin wan take win

Congratulations to the UKRAINIANS with balls. meanwhile, they have taken the war to russia territory and launched a counter attack on russia oil wells.

Vladimir Putin will soon commit suicide due to the humiliation this invasion has caused him

Putin keeps humiliating himself

Not how mighty, strong you may become but how you're helped divinely through humility
Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, some trust in chemical weapons, technologies, human wisdom..
It pays to trust in the Lord.....

Appleyard:
Lmao. The Russians simply withdrew from there.

No, they were destroyed

Appleyard:
Lmao. The Russians simply withdrew from there.

according to one of Putin lapdogs in Nigeria

They withdrawn what a misleading headline

Let them be careful o.They might hide explosives in the town.

Brave Mayor, unlike our coward Maj Gen, who can't even lead the war against Boko boys, bandits and others. RIP to Chadian gallant president

Why didn't tell us when Russia capture Irpin as a balanced reporting, it was not even reported that the city was bombarded so how did it now lies in ruins


Only God knows how many cities are currently under Putin that we are not been told about

Is this news not from cnn again, when are we going to see it Russian view

Russians left, it now you are now shouting Ukraine retake this and that, when Russia was busy bombarding them left right and center why did they not retake it.
Oh Zelensky see what you have turned country into for cheap publicity and selfish gain

Russia have turned Ukraine to Borno State

The West that was sweating and roaring couldn't even come to their rescue but are rather turning the country ino a battle field and have turned Ukraine to a battle field

The US are busy telling Africa countries to be more assertive in placing a ban on Russia while they didn't tell the West to be assertive in baning them when they were in invading Egypt, Libya and Syria

H

Russian soldiers are already tired of the war, Putin will be the biggest loser because smaller nation's will start Dragging meat with them.

Appleyard:
Lmao. The Russians simply withdrew from there.

When they did not withdraw how many towns or cities did they take