From the first days of the Russian invasion, Gostomel became the epicenter of the battles for Kyiv, and the occupiers tried to use the local airport as a springboard for landing and storming the capital. The Russians killed the mayor Yuri Prylypko. Approximately 80% of the village was occupied, the rest of the territory on the other side of the Irpin River was controlled by the Armed Forces.

Since the end of March, the invaders began to retreat, however, they still do not have full control over the settlement, Taras Dumenko, the head of the Gostomel military administration, said in an interview with LIGA.net.

According to him, the local authorities do not yet have access to Gostomel. Dumenko was last in Gostomel on March 12, during evacuation through humanitarian corridors.

“But from what I can see beforehand, the situation there is the same as after the Second World War,” the head of the village notes, recalling that in those days a line of defense also passed through Gostomel.

There is no gas or electricity in the village. There is also mostly no water due to the lack of electricity: before the war, the village was provided with a centralized supply of only 20%. In Gostomel, private estates prevail, where people use wells and boreholes.

There has been no communication with the areas near Antonov Airport for the past few weeks. “People from apartment buildings were moved to basements and there was no communication with them. The occupiers took their phones,” Dumenko notes.

Before talking about the return of residents to Gostomel, the territory must be cleared of mines. They are considering the option of dividing the village into sectors and launching people in stages for demining.

“What is there in the fields and forests is not clear at all. From Irpen’s experience, we know that even corpses are mined. We received unconfirmed information that wells with drinking water were mined,” the head of the administration notes.

Before the war, about 30-35 thousand people lived in the Gostomel community, which also includes Gorenka, Moschun and Ozera. Of those who remained, there are 1,200 confirmed contacts. But, according to Dumenko, this number could be at least five times higher, given the fact that the Russians took phones and shot people.