Thread by @SibirPrizrak

Battle of Kiev Thread

(1) This thread will talk about the protracted battles around Kiev (I will make separate threads covering the battles of Kharkov and the south of Ukraine that happened at the same time) following the decisive offensive in the first 24 hours of the war.

(2) The Russian military failed to achieve its key objectives despite scoring a diplomatic victory, forcing Ukraine to tap out at Istanbul, if only temporarily. This battle turned a political decapitation strike to quickly end the conflict from 2014 into a war of attrition.

(3) 25.2.22 Russian forces solidify their bridgehead on the western flank of Kiev, capturing Dymer, along with VDV forces completely clearing Gostomel.Ukrainians deploy elements of the 80th Air Assault Brigade in the area of Ivankiv and Borodyanka.

(4) creating the possibility of flanking attacks and infiltrations into Russian lines, so the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, along with the 155th Separate Marine Brigade, is tasked to dislodge the Ukrainians from this area and secure the 2 towns

(5) The 80th odshbr, after Russian forces intensified shelling of the area, moved its main elements inside Kiev, blowing up the bridge at Vyshgorod and leaving behind small teams with ATGMs traveling with civilian vehicles and setting up ambushes

(6) the first 5th Tank Brigade convoy headed for Ivankiv was ambushed at the circular intersection outside of the town, and several tanks and BMPs were destroyed.

(7) Following this ambush, Russian forces intensified shelling, and Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat; the town was captured by elements of the 155th Marine Brigade. without further losses

(8) After securing Ivankiv, Russian forces entered Borodyanka, where Ukrainians also attempted to set up ambushes but were less successful using abandoned high-rise buildings drawing tank fire on themselves.

(9) After the capture of Borodyanka and Ivankiv, the main Russian objective became to reach the E-40 Highway west of Kiev through Makariv or Bucha. Also, VDV forces from Gostomel started moving into Bucha on foot and ambushed several Trucks of Ukrainian TDF Fighters

(10) Cleanup with Infantry continues until the 27th, when the first Russian armored convoys move into Bucha, mistakenly firing on the local BTR Monument.

(11) On the 25th of February at 8 AM, a convoy of trucks manned by SOBR and OMON police units reached Gostomel Airport heading toward Kiev. This is something that happened quite often during the early part of the war, unfortunately resulting in many casualties.

(12) The use of police units in hostile territory in an armed conflict is damn near suicidal. And unfortunately, this is not the only time this happened; it also did at Kharkov around the same time.

(13) The convoy passes through Bucha and crosses over the bridge over the Irpin River, where it is annihilated by Ukrainian artillery and mortar fire. Those who tried to dismount and flee were killed by small arms fire there were almost no survivors

(14) But this incident lit the spark of chaos and anarchy inside Kiev, where civilians had been given weapons and formed into so-called Territorial Defense Units. Ukrainians became convinced Russians were already inside the city and so they started fighting among themselves

(15) In the evening of the following day, the 26th of February, one of many of those friendly fire incidents was caught on camera at the Beresteiskaya Metro Station. A Ural truck of the 101st Guards Brigade, a national guard unit tasked with defending Kiev, was ambushed

(16) By 1 IMV, several BTRs, and one Strela AD system belonging to the 79th Air Assault Brigade, one civilian car was run over and flattened by the Strela, and several cars were shot at by one BTR near the Manhattan Apartment complex, killing some civilians.

(17) Russian forces were nowhere near inside Kiev, and this one incident is not the only one, but just the best documented one. People shot each other and looted stores; it was pure panic and anarchy and the number of people that were killed other nothing is very large

(18) The Russian Air Force intensified aerial bombardment of Kiev, and one Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down attempting to engage with its pilot, Oleksandr Oksanchenko, KIA.

(19) The 90th Tank Regiment continued to close in on Kiev from the east capturing the town of Bakhmach
despite heavy resistance from local civilians

(20) Russian helicopters swarmed deep into Ukraine, even reaching the border with Poltava Oblast destroying Ukrainian Buk air defense systems covering Kiev. Despite everything, Russian forces maintained total air supremacy.

(21) on February 28 an insanely large convoy which grows to a size of up to 64 km apears on the Western Flank of Kiev likely aiming to overwhelm the Ukrainians with the sheer number of vehicles and punch through the E40 Highway. In reality, it was just one large static target,

(22) as the convoy was stuck on the roads and barely able to move, large parts of it were destroyed.Its remnants gathered on the territory of Gostomel Airport. It was meant to break through Irpin and Makariv, so what was left of it had been split into 2 separate convoys.

(23) On the 27th of February, Russians make their attempt to break through Irpin; the convoy consists of the 31st Guard Air Assault Brigade along with the 98th, 7th, and 76th VDV. heads into the urban area of Irpin Ukrainians deploy parts of the 79th odshbr to stop them

(24)The 79th sets up an ambush, operating from the Giraffe Shopping Mall, blowing up the bridge over the Irpin River, meaning Russians are trapped on the other side along the road and are then annihilated by artillery and mortar fire.

(25) As after the Irpin ambush the momentum on the western flank had been stalled, the 90th Tank Division continues to push from the east towards Kiev, capturing the town of Nizhyn.

(26) This also marked the complete encirclement of Chernigov. Despite the myth of the town never being captured, it was practically under Russian control, and there were no Ukrainian forces inside.

(27) Russian forces also captured the town of Pryluky, but Ukrainians set up ambushes outside of the town, destroying a few Russian vehicles.

(28) The 37th Guard Motor Rifle Brigade is tasked with capturing Makariv and reaching the E-40 Highway. The town had been reinforced by elements of the 14th ombr.

(29) Russian tanks that enter the highway are often ambushed by small teams of Ukrainian soldiers with ATGMs, like in this instance where a Russian tank was destroyed.

(30) On 2nd March, as the 90th Tank Regiment comes ever closer to Brovary, the retreating Ukrainians blow up the bridge in the town of Baryshivka.

(31) Due to the presence of 14 OBRs, Makariv was subjected to heavy shelling. The 37th Motor Rifle convoy heading for Makariv is very disorganized, falling victim to artillery strikes and hit-and-run ambushes, and Bayraktar TB2 strikes Makariv and Motyzhin are captured.

(32) The objective was accomplished but with heavy, unnecessary casualties due to simple incompetence. Russian forces slowly started falling back from Bucha as behind-the-scenes negotiations slowly unraveled, but part of the convoy was ambushed by Ukrainians

(33) Ukrainians recapture all of Bucha and ambush some parts of the retreating Russian forces, also destroying abandoned equipment. Russian forces change their plan and attempt to enter Kiev, bypassing Bucha and Irpin.

(34) Crossing the Irpin River and capturing the town of Moschun and dismounting infantry on the edge of Kiev, The Ukrainian Brigade deployed around the Irpin River is the 72nd OMBR.

(35) As all the bridges have been destroyed, the VDV starts establishing pontoon bridges due to the destruction of the Kozarovychi Dam on 26.2 by the AFU. The water level continues rising, so crossing the river is especially difficult.

(36) Using the light and mobile paratrooper BMDs, they want to quickly break through the forests upon crossing the river and dismount infantry in the residential areas of Kyiv so the push through the urban area of Bucha is abandoned in favor of this shortcut.

(37) A significant amount of artillery is deployed, and close air support is provided by helicopter in the area of Moschun. One MiG-24 is shot down by Ukrainian forces using MANPADS. Overwhelming the defenders with artillery and numerical superiority, Russians capture Moschun.

(38) Ukrainians use drone-guided artillery strikes to target and destroy pontoon bridges, complicating logistics. Using drone-guided artillery, they also target Russian infantry setting up ammo dumps and positions in the dense forests around Moschun.

(39) As the water level rises, even more logistics become plain impossible, and Russians start to retreat from Moschun and by March 22 have completely retreated from the village

(40) Russians maintain artillery superiority. shelling Kiev with MLRS from 2 sides, and one of their main priorities throughout the battles is counter battery fire.They strike the abandoned Retroville Shopping Center with Iskander, which the AFU uses to operate Grad MLRS.

(41) Also, throughout the battle, Ukrainians use TDF units to carry out the most risky counterattacks, bearing the brunt of the casualties. Here is a TDF casualty collection point. in Vasilkyv

(42) On March 9, the 90th Tank Regiment reaches Kyiv from the east and heads toward Brovary with a large convoy of up to 60 pieces of equipment. Along the main road, no prior reconnaissance was done, and no measures to prevent an ambush were taken.the road was not secured

(43) A Stugna P position is set up in the fields on the side of the road at a safe distance. As soon as the convoy reaches it, they open fire, taking out the head tank., and the convoy scatters only to be targeted by artillery almost the entire convoy is wiped out

(44) From March 9 to March 24, Russian forces slowly started pulling back from around Kiev, and Ukrainian forces started (retaking) areas as the diplomatic surrender that this decapitation strike was meant to achieve had been set in motion during the Istanbul Negotiations.

(45) But the increasing Western military and financial aid gave the Ukrainians a boost in confidence. The Western powers could not accept a quick Russian victory via a show of force at Kiev ending with Ukraine tapping out; they wanted to wear down Russia

(46) in a never-ending war of attrition, so the promises and guarantees made at Istanbul were void once the Russians had retreated from Kiev.The leader of the Ukrainian negotiation team, Denys Kireyev, was murdered by the SBU, meaning everything he had agreed to now meant nothing

(47) A special military operation meant to end the 8-year brutal conflict in eastern Ukraine and force Ukraine to accept a permanent solution via a show of force was quickly turned into a more then 3--year war of attrition.

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