Liberated Hostomel was among the first to see Russian forces' atrocities in Bucha: a Zakarpattian paratrooper's story

The agency of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, ArmyINFORM, writes about the paratrooper, Espreso.West reports. 

Paratrooper Petro remembered his first battle very well. It happened not far from Vorzel; it was then that he first took part in battle and lost a comrade-in-arms. Later, his unit faced the task of entering the territory of the Hostomel airport and knocking out the Russians from a strategically important object.

"We advanced to the airport territory in the dark. We had thermal imagers, so we could see the enemy. Our infantry fighting vehicles broke through the walls of the airport on the move and maneuvered to the runway. The Russians tried to bypass us from the flanks with several armored vehicles. A fierce battle began. We had losses, but were able to destroy Russian vehicles along with manpower. We almost approached the runway when we noticed that enemy tanks were already trying to encircle us. They decided to retreat in order to protect personnel", the soldier recalled. 

The commander of the paratroopers gave the coordinates of the Russians and their armored vehicles. Ukrainian gunners successfully worked on them. Then almost all the Russian equipment with the occupants was destroyed, and the surviving Russians surrendered.

Petro was also among the paratroopers who had the task of liberating Bucha from the Russian invaders.

"From everything I saw in Bucha, I was filled with uncontrollable anger. I still understand when soldiers are killed in war, but what was the fault of civilians: defenseless women, elderly men, and children. Invading Russian forces killed them simply because they were citizens of another country and didn't speak Russian. That's what they are, our "brothers", and I will beat them as long as I have the strength", the fighter added. 

The soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remembers well the fierce battles near Irpin. After the liberation of the Kyiv region, Petro was sent to the Donetsk direction.

"Compared to the capital region, in the Donetsk region the occupiers show even more fear. This can be seen from their uncertain and chaotic actions. They do not stick their heads out of the trenches. They must have realized that they are not at home. Our artillery works very well and I must say that they are very afraid of us, the Ukrainian paratroopers", the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.