The Ukrainian Army also makes progress in the east of kyiv, in addition to those achieved in recent days in the northwest. Russian troops are losing positions on the two main roads they have tried to open since the invasion began on February 24 to try to reach the heart of the capital. A military base attacked then at the entrance to Brovari, on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River and at the gates of kyiv, is a reminder of the rapid Russian advance in the first days of the war. But they never managed to get past that and in the last month they have done nothing but lose ground. In the midst of this stalemate, Moscow has reversed its initial intention to deal a quick blow to kyiv and the government of President Volodímir Zelensky and now assures that its objective is to take only the Donbas region, in the east of the country, and that pro-Russian separatists have partly controlled for eight years.

In the Brovary and Borispyl area, east of kyiv, “the enemy is moving” but is not ready “for an offensive,” said Oleksandr Hruzevich, deputy head of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, during a public appearance on Friday. Despite the fact that the first month of war has already passed, the center of kyiv, the main Russian objective, is still far from being in the line of fire. In any case, Russian troops “still have the strength to attack and will do so in the near future,” Hruzevich said. The Ukrainian counterattacks and the supply problems of the Russian forces “have allowed Ukraine to reoccupy cities and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers east of kyiv”, according to data from the UK authorities cited by the Reuters agency.

“We have left Shevchenkove with our car through a humanitarian corridor organized by the Government. When we left, we went through three checkpoints with the armed Russians who checked the documents,” says Volodímir, 68. “A young couple from my town who worked in the market has been shot by Russian soldiers, the car with everything that was inside destroyed, we have buried them,” he adds.

Volodímir is one of those who waits his turn along with several dozen people to register in the central square of Brovari before the municipal offices. Some are angry because they want better help. They are citizens who have escaped or have been evacuated in recent days from locations in dispute between the two armies.

“Bohdanivka was all full of Russian soldiers,” says Irina, 58, another of those queuing to register and who was evacuated to Brovari on the night of March 23. “We have left the houses open so that they don’t break anything when they want to enter, because they are destroying the windows and the fences.” Irina, fostered in a sister’s house, regrets not having received anything yet and criticizes that the pace of care is not what she expected. “They promise help for people with oncological diseases, like me, medicines, humanitarian aid, products and material aid of 2,000 hryvnias per person (about 70 euros in exchange) and 3,000 (about 105 euros) for people with disabilities, as is my case. ”.

Some armed militiamen order the flow of requests for help in the square while the siren that warns of a possible attack from the air directs some of the refugees to a nearby shelter. Others are not taken for granted. “They were bombing the warehouses and the central street. At a friend’s house they have destroyed the front door. It was two in the morning and luckily the children were in the basement, because the Russians entered the house and threw a grenade into the bedroom. They burned houses,” recalls Volodymyr, who arrived in Brovari on March 20 from Shevchenkove.

Some 20,000 people have left Borispol, a suburb to the east of kyiv near where the capital’s airport is located, to facilitate the tasks of the Ukrainian Army against the Russian, the mayor, Volodímir Borisenko, explained to the Reuters agency.

The strategy of the local army is to hinder the arrival of supplies to the Russians and try to surround their troops near kyiv once they are short of supplies, according to a military spokesman. He estimates that the Kremlin has some 19,000 troops deployed in the northwest of the Ukrainian capital, which has been Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main military and political target since he ordered the invasion. The ground forces commanded by General Oleksandr Sirskii have been managing for days to stop the advance of Kremlin troops northwest of the capital around the disputed towns of Irpin, Gostomel, Bucha and Makariv.

To the east of the main orb of the country, from the entrance of the Brovari military base, it is observed that the damage is evident in different buildings after the Russian attack at the beginning of the war. Several vehicles destroyed in the fray, including an armored Ukrainian Army, now serve as a barricade to slow down the passage of vehicles on the road. One of those who controls the place is Sergei, 27, an employee of a US technology company who has been allowed to join the civil defense of his country and, at the same time, continue to receive the minimum of his salary. . The young man, armed and equipped with all the military paraphernalia, does not hear more shots in the background than those of his companions who carry out target practice inside the military installations.

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