Russian forces withdraw from airport near Kiev

A US Defense Department official said on March 31 that they believed Russian forces had likely withdrawn from Antonov airport, the target of the attack on the first day Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine.

Satellite images taken on the same day by Maxar Technologies later confirmed this information. There were no more Russian military vehicles and artillery positions, only the ledges they had built at the airfield.

Control of Antonov airport was the first major victory of Russian forces on the first day of hostilities 24/2. Several transport and attack helicopters ambushed the base and Ukrainian troops there. CNN reporters also witnessed some fierce fighting here.

Since then, Ukrainian forces have been working to block the momentum of Russia’s advance into Kiev. Fighting took place along the Irpin River and the towns of Irpin and Bucha, south of the airport, and the surrounding village of Hostomel.

All Russian forces and vehicles located west of Kiev are deployed from Belarus. It is not clear whether Russian military vehicles and artillery have moved back to Belarus. Due to cloud cover, satellite images could not determine the destination of Russian forces in the region.

Ukraine yesterday announced the recapture of the city BuchaKiev province, in the northwest suburbs of the capital Kiev and south of Hostomel, after five weeks of fighting.

“March 31 will go down in the history of our city, the day the city was liberated,” mayor Anatolii Fedoruk said in a video filmed outside Bucha town hall on April 1.

Moscow has not yet commented on the above information.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces were withdrawing “slowly but noticeably” from northern Ukraine.

“They are withdrawing their forces from the north of our country. In some places they withdraw after the fighting, in other places they leave on their own,” Zelensky said, urging people to be cautious. “Everyone returning to this area must also be very careful. It is not yet possible to return to normal life as before, let’s wait until you can be assured that there will be no more shelling.”

According to the President of Ukraine, in the east, the country’s forces are preparing for a possible Russian attack in the Donbass region and the country’s second largest city, Kharkov.

“The situation is still extremely difficult. Russian forces are moving towards the Donbass, in the direction of Kharkov. They are preparing for new attacks. We are preparing for an even more active defense,” Zelensky said. It added that 6,266 people were rescued through evacuation corridors in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia on April 1.

Russia launched a special military operation to “demilitarize and de-fascist Ukraine”. Representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations announced yesterday that they would continue their talks in an online form, after a face-to-face discussion was assessed as positive in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29. Ukrainian President Zelensky said that handing over draft documents on ensuring security with a number of countries, including the US and its allies.

Huyen Le (According to CNN, Reuters)