| Bombing of Borodianka | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Kyiv offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
 A building in Borodianka destroyed by Russian bombing | |
| Location | Borodianka |
| Date | March 2022 |
| Deaths | 80[1] |
| Assailants | Russian Armed Forces |
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The town of Borodianka was bombed extensively by the Russian Armed Forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported the town's devastation on 7 April 2022, a week after the Bucha massacre was discovered. As of 17 April[update], 41 bodies had been found according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.[2]
Russian attacks[]
Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Borodianka, a quiet "one-street town"[3] to the north of Kyiv, had roughly 13,000 residents.[4]
As Russian forces fought in and near Kyiv, Borodianka, which is on a strategically important road,[3] was targeted by numerous Russian airstrikes.[5] According to Iryna Venediktova, prosecutor general of Ukraine, Russian soldiers used cluster munitions and Tornado and Uragan rockets to destroy buildings, and fired "at night, when the maximum number of people would be at home".[6] Most of the buildings in the town were destroyed,[7] including almost all of its main street.[8] Russian bombs struck the centers of buildings and caused them to collapse while the frames remained standing.[7][8] Oleksiy Reznikov, minister of defense, said many residents were buried alive by airstrikes and lay dying for up to a week. He further said that those who had gone to help them were shot at by Russian soldiers.[9]
Venediktova also accused the Russian soldiers of "murders, tortures, and beatings" of civilians.[4][10]
Some residents hid in caves for 38 days.[5] On 26 March 2022, Russia, repelled from Kyiv, progressively withdrew from the region to concentrate on Donbas.[11] Borodianka's mayor said that as the Russian convoy had moved through the town, Russian soldiers had fired through every open window. He estimated at least 200 dead.[12]
Only a few hundred residents remained in Borodianka by the time the Russians withdrew, with roughly 90% of residents having fled,[8] and an unknown number dead in the rubble.[5] The retreating Russian troops placed mines throughout the town.[8]
On May 2, 2022, employees of the State Emergency Service rescued a cat from the seventh floor of a destroyed building, which spent about two months there without food or water and became a symbol of the indomitability of the Ukrainian people in the fight against the Russian occupiers.[13]
Subsequent developments[]
Agence France-Presse arrived in Borodianka on 5 April. The AFP did not see any bodies, but reported widespread destruction, and that some homes "simply no longer existed". The human death toll remained unclear: one resident reported that he knew of at least five civilians killed, but that others were beneath the rubble and that no one had yet attempted to extricate them.[14][11]
On 7 April, Venediktova announced that an initial 26 bodies had been discovered in the rubble of two destroyed buildings.[15] She stated that Borodianka was "the most destroyed town in the area" and that "only the civilian population was targeted; there are no military sites."[6][4] President Volodymyr Zelensky subsequently said that the death toll at Borodianka was "even worse" than at Bucha.[15][16][17]
According to Europe 1, ten days after the Russian army had left, firefighters were still working to recover bodies from the rubble in order to bury them with dignity. Their work was complicated by the risk of other buildings collapsing. More bodies were discovered daily. Local morgues were overwhelmed, and corpses had to be transported 100 kilometres or more.[5]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "Civilian Body Count in Kyiv Region Surpasses 1,000, Regional Police Chief Says" (in en). 2022-04-22. https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/civilian-body-count-in-kyiv-region-surpasses-1000-regional-police-chief-says.html.
- ↑ Prentice, Alessandra; Zinets, Natalia (17 April 2022). "Ukrainian soldiers hold out in Mariupol, pope laments 'Easter of War'". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-tells-ukrainian-troops-mariupol-lay-down-arms-0300-gmt-2022-04-17/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pérez-Peña, Richard (2022-04-05). "In the rubble of a town near Kyiv, many are missing and feared dead." (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/05/world/ukraine-russia-war.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Senneville, Frédéric (8 April 2022). "Guerre en Ukraine. À Borodianka, une situation "plus horrible" qu'à Boutcha. Le point de la nuit" (in fr). Ouest-France. ISSN 1760-6306. https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/guerre-en-ukraine/guerre-en-ukraine-a-borodianka-une-situation-plus-horrible-qu-a-boutcha-le-point-de-la-nuit-ddd95f05-5ecc-4dfd-83e0-60e2bb3de094.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Ukraine : à Borodianka, la difficulté d'extraire les cadavres" (in fr). 9 April 2022. https://www.europe1.fr/international/ukraine-a-borodianka-la-difficulte-dextraire-les-cadavres-4104608.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Iryna Venediktova [VenediktovaIV]. "Borodianka is the most destroyed city in the Kyiv region. Evidence of Russian war crimes is here at every turn: cluster bombs, missiles, burned elements of the "Smerch". The whole world strives for peace and justice. Russia will be held accountable for its every deadly step. Бородянка - найзруйнованіше місто Київщини. Докази воєнних злочинів РФ тут на кожному кроці: касетні бомби, ракети, спалені елементи «Смерчу». Весь світ прагне миру і справедливості. Росія відповість за кожен свій смертоносний крок." (in en,uk). https://twitter.com/VenediktovaIV/status/1512168922598055937. Missing or empty |date= (help)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Karazy, Sergiy (2022-04-08). "Borodianka razed: Zelenskiy says situation 'more dreadful' than Bucha" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/situation-ukraines-borodyanka-more-dreadful-than-bucha-zelenskiy-2022-04-07/. "Few buildings remain standing in Borodianka, the ones that do have burn marks running up their walls."
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Sullivan, Becky (2022-04-07). "Ukrainians return to Borodyanka after Russian withdrawal and find their town in ruins" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/04/06/1091308623/ukraine-borodyanka-civilians-russia.
- ↑ Nava, Victor I.. "Civilians "buried alive" in Borodyanka, "much worse" than Bucha, Zelensky says" (in en). Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/civilians-buried-alive-in-borodyanka-much-worse-than-bucha-zelensky-says.
- ↑ "Під завалами будинків у Бородянці знайшли вже 26 загиблих" (in uk). Focus. 2022. https://focus.ua/uk/voennye-novosti/511741-pod-zavalami-domov-v-borodyanke-nashli-uzhe-26-pogibshih-venediktova-foto.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Massacre de Boutcha : ce que l'on sait sur la découverte des corps de civils" (in fr). Le Monde.fr. 2022-04-05. https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2022/04/05/guerre-en-ukraine-ce-que-l-on-sait-du-massacre-de-boutcha_6120745_4355770.html.
- ↑ "Guerre en Ukraine : la ville de Borodyanka dévastée par les frappes russes" (in fr-FR). 2022-04-06. https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/manifestations-en-ukraine/guerre-en-ukraine-la-ville-de-borodyanka-devastee-par-les-frappes-russes_5065819.html.
- ↑ "Чотирилапі символи війни: пес Патрон, кішка Шафа й інші". 2022-05-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20220528125514/https://focus.ua/uk/lifestyle/515096-chetyrehlapye-simvoly-voyny-pes-patron-koshka-koshka-shafa-i-drugie.
- ↑ "Guerre en Ukraine: Zelensky accuse les Russes de nouveaux massacres à Borodianka" (in fr). 2022-04-05. https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/entry/guerre-en-ukraine-zelensky-accuse-les-russes-de-nouveaux-massacres-a-borodianka_fr_624bd0a8e4b0981745052062.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Senneville, Frédéric (8 April 2022). "Ukraine : le bilan à Borodianka s'annonce 'bien plus horrible' qu'à Boutcha, affirme Zelensky" (in fr). TF1. https://www.tf1info.fr/international/ukraine-le-bilan-a-borodianka-s-annonce-bien-plus-horrible-qu-a-boutcha-affirme-zelensky-2215985.html.
- ↑ Senneville, Frédéric (8 April 2022). "Guerre en Ukraine : Borodianka pire que le massacre de Boutcha ? L'angoisse des autorités ukrainiennes" (in fr). La Dépêche du Midi. ISSN 2100-0573. https://www.ladepeche.fr/2022/04/08/guerre-en-ukraine-borodianka-pire-que-le-massacre-de-boutcha-langoisse-des-autorites-ukrainiennes-10222474.php.
- ↑ Henley, Jon (8 April 2022). "Russia laments 'tragedy' of troop deaths as Zelenskiy warns of atrocities in Borodianka" (in en). ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/08/russia-laments-tragedy-of-troop-deaths-as-zelenskiy-warns-of-atrocities-in-borodyanka.
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