This is the abandoned Hostel Airport in Ukraine. It’s the war-torn airstrip that stopped Russia from seizing Kiev in the early days of Putin’s brutal invasion.
Now home to the world’s largest aircraft wreckage, debris from other planes, and a crippled landing strip, the airport’s battle scars testify to Russia’s worst failure.
Exactly two years ago, the Russian tyrant sent out helicopters and captured Hostmel in a daring flying attack.
But today Volodymyr Zelensky hosted Western leaders on a tarmac scarred by shells. This is a sign of the country’s strength and defense.
But about 730 days ago, Europe woke up to shocking footage of a Russian helicopter flying over western Ukraine.
Because they were flying low, Ukrainian forces could not see them, and their location was revealed only after they began firing at the airport.
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Volodymyr Sumus, head of the airport’s control and command center, recalled how surprised he was by the onslaught of helicopters.
“We were not ready for war,” Sumus told Global News.
“The airfield was preparing to receive Boeing and Antonov planes.
“A missile attack on the area of the airfield was considered at the planning meeting. [not] It’s a full-scale invasion. ”
Sumus, who had been warned about Putin’s possible attack on the airport, was on the scene with dozens of other employees trying to protect the plane.
It was decided to move the aircraft to another area around the airport so that it would not be destroyed in the first attack.
Reluctantly, they also decided to leave the Mriya, a huge plane with twice the carrying capacity of a Boeing 747, in the hangar to protect the pilot from the possibility of being shot down.
Shortly thereafter, a helicopter arrived.
Dozens of airport personnel were still on the scene, but were forced to evacuate as the Russian invaders opened fire.
About 80 employees made it to air raid shelters, while others had no choice but to jump into the sewers.
heroic defense
Vitaly Rudenko, the commander of the National Guard at the Ukrainian airfield, was alerted to the conflict hours earlier.
He and his unit of 120 soldiers had been preparing for war for almost a week, and he still couldn’t believe it was happening.
Rudenko told Gobal News:
“We saw them come up the tree and start shooting at the airport.”
it looks like this
“Until probably the last moment, we did not believe that this was possible, that an all-out attack was possible, but after the first group of helicopters we understood that it had really begun.”
The Ukrainian military described a terrifying scene in which a flying tank known as a Mi-24 helicopter was pursued by 30 helicopters, including the K-52 Alligator, the helicopter with the most potential for damage.
Rudenko ordered his troops to take to the sky.
“When we were hit by helicopter fire, I gave the order to fire back,” he said.
“We were trying to shoot down a helicopter.”
Rudenko’s forces destroyed six aircraft, damaged two more, and were able to crash the K-52 into the Dnieper River.
The defenders were able to hold out until the arrival of paratroopers.
Troops poured in in droves, directing barrages of machine gun fire at Rudenko’s relatively small force.
“The enemy overwhelmed us in the air, and they had more paratroopers,” Rudenko said.
“We had to retreat to save the lives of our team.”
It was later discovered that airport staff had been corrupted by Russian intelligence to hand over these jobs.
bloody battle
Despite initial victories against the Ukrainian defense, the Russians were no match for local armed civilians who rushed to the soldiers’ aid.
Civilians pushed back the invaders with the support of Ukrainian military artillery, which shelled the airport’s runway to prevent the Russian plane from landing.
These civilians played a key role in holding the ground to allow for a massive counterattack from the National Guard and Ukrainian Air Force.
Ukraine rushed in hundreds of troops, while fighter jets that survived Russia’s initial missile attack were used to protect ground forces.
Russian planes carrying reinforcements were prevented from landing and forced to return to Russia.
By the evening of February 24, Ukrainian forces surrounded the airport.
Several days saw active attacks on the Russian side, accompanied by heavy air strikes by armored vehicles from Belarus.
Some of the vehicles leaving Belarus on February 25 were ambushed, but Russian reinforcements were eventually able to enter the airport.
The Ukrainian defenders were quickly expelled, and claims emerged that Russia had captured Hostomel.
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry initially denied that Russia had captured the airport, but by February 26 this was confirmed.
On February 27, Russia turned its attention from the airport to the towns of Bucha and Irpin, which had previously been blockaded by Ukrainian resistance.
No matter how hard they tried, besieging the town, killing and torturing anyone who got in their way, they still could not break through the defenses.
On the same day, Ukrainian forces shelled the airport.
In the process, countless Russian equipment, vehicles, and personnel were destroyed.
So did the Mrya, Ukraine’s most valuable aircraft, and Russian media aired footage of it in action.
Although the Russians were able to partially repair the airport over several weeks, it no longer had a functional runway.
Ukrainian military officials who took part in the battle say Russia’s downfall was due to the extent to which it underestimated Ukraine’s military tactics.
Ukrainian forces were able to skillfully manipulate the terrain and destroy infrastructure such as airports, roads, and bridges.
They also deployed guerrilla tactics, such as night shelling, to demoralize Russian troops and drive them into killing zones.
Just 30 kilometers from the airport, Ukrainian military artillery blew up the Kozalovych dam across the Irpin River.
The river flooded its banks and slowed the advance of the Russian army. Some reports suggest that Russian troops had to swim through floodwaters.
The Russians stationed in the area had become mere ducks.
As of March 28, satellite images showed no Russian troops inside the airport, and on March 29 it was announced that they would be withdrawing from Kiev.
The airport is now considered the site of Russia’s biggest failure.
Two years after the invasion, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke out about Putin’s failures at a ceremony at an abandoned airport.
“This place is a symbol of Moscow’s failure and Ukraine’s pride,” Meloni said.
“Putin’s plan was thwarted here. It’s a reminder that there is something stronger than missiles and war, land and freedom.”