The Media Line Bureau Chief Mohammad Al-Kassim reports from Ukraine’s Antonov military airport.
Antonov airport, located in the city of Hostomel and some 15 miles northwest of the capital Kyiv, was the first position in Ukraine occupied by the Russian army when it invaded the country on February 24, 2022. But last week, more than a month after Russia launched a war on its neighbor, the Ukrainian army retook the airport in both a military victory and a symbolic victory for Ukraine.
The retaken airport is littered with Russian military-issued food rations and military gear including helmets and radio equipment, indicating that the soldiers intended to stay for a long time. The airport was the site of a major battle, hours after the Russian invasion began. A burned-out tank on the grounds of the airport and the body of a Russian soldier lying nearby are testament to the Ukrainian resistance.
The airport is near the Ukrainian towns of Irpin and Bucha, which the Russians reportedly believed they would overtake as the military made its way to Kyiv. But the Ukrainian government said on Wednesday that the capital and the cities surrounding it had been liberated by the country’s military.