Ukraine: 200 soldiers died at the hands of Russian troops during the seizure of an airfield

On February 24, the Hostomel military airport (known as Antonov), located on the outskirts of the capital of UkraineKiev, was taken by Russian troops.

This was reported by the Ukrainian authorities and the American chain CNN, which recorded the military action in said compound.

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The Ministry of Defense of Russia confirmed this Friday that the compound located on the outskirts of Kiev is under his control. Furthermore, he claimed that more than 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during the seizure of the airfield.

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The spokesman for the Ministry, Igor Konashénov, stated that around 200 helicopters participated in the operation and that they ended “More than 200 nationalists who were part of the Ukrainian special forces,” according to the EFE agency. The Russian military indicated that the Russian forces “did not suffer casualties”.

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”Currently, the main forces of the airborne troops joined the units that landed at the Hostomel airfield, ensuring the blockade of the city of KievKonashenkov added.

The seizure of the terminal occurred on the afternoon of February 24 when, according to witnesses, helicopters were heard flying over nearby homes.

“The helicopters arrived and the fighting started. They fired with machine guns and grenade launchers.” civilian Serguiy Storojouk told AFP.

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The takeover took 3 hours and civilians commented that warplanes fired on Ukrainian ground units. Black smoke billowed into the sky as the takedown loomed.

Initially, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Russia had taken the Hostomel airfield, while ordering the Russian troops to be “annihilated”. Hours later, the Government assured that they would have regained control of the compound.

Presidential adviser Alexei Arestovich wrote on his Facebook account that Hostomel airport is already “ours”, while Anton Gershchenko, adviser to the Minister of the Interior, indicated in another message on the same social network that the Ukrainian Army has achieved its ” first great victory”, by recovering the Antonov International Airport.

SEE ALSO