The Battle of Hostomel and Russia's Failed Attack on Kyiv
Russian helicopters were approaching Hostomel before many Kyiv residents understood how close the invasion already was. The airport about 25 kilometres northwest of the capital could have brought transport aircraft, troops, and equipment almost to Kyiv's edge.
The assault on February 24 was therefore more than a fight over a runway. It was an attempt to create an air bridge for the fast seizure of the Ukrainian capital.
The Airborne Assault
Russian attack helicopters crossed toward Antonov Airport at Hostomel on the invasion's first morning. Airborne troops landed, seized parts of the field, and tried to secure it for larger transport planes expected to follow.
Ukrainian defenders fought back with National Guard units, special forces, artillery, aircraft, and hastily assembled reinforcements. The airport changed hands or remained contested through confused fighting, and its runway and facilities were damaged enough to frustrate immediate large-scale airlift operations.
Russian forces later gained control after ground formations arrived from Belarus. By then, however, the chance to use an intact airport for a sudden flood of reinforcements and a direct dash into central Kyiv had been lost.
The fighting also destroyed the Antonov An-225 Mriya, the world's heaviest operational cargo aircraft, inside its hangar. Its loss became an emotional symbol, although the greater military consequence was the denial of a usable airhead close to the capital.
A detailed RUSI study of the opening campaign describes Hostomel as the intended airhead for rapidly moving forces into the capital. The plan only worked if the airport was secured quickly and Ukraine's command system collapsed around it.
The Ground Attack From Belarus
At the same time, Russian armoured and mechanized columns moved south through the Chornobyl area. They entered Kyiv's northwestern suburbs and fought through Hostomel, Bucha, and Irpin, but their advances narrowed onto roads and bridges that Ukrainian troops could block or attack.
Images of a Russian column stretching for many kilometres north of Kyiv became one of the campaign's defining sights. The vehicles weren't all immobilized at once, yet congestion, damaged roads, mechanical failures, fuel shortages, and Ukrainian strikes made it difficult to turn the mass of equipment into coordinated combat power.
Ukrainian units attacked supply vehicles and command posts, used artillery and small anti-tank teams, and flooded terrain by opening waterworks along the Irpin River. Local knowledge and short supply lines helped the defence while Russian formations operated at the end of a vulnerable route from Belarus.
Fighting Around the Capital
The northwestern suburbs suffered intensely because they sat between the stalled airport operation and Kyiv. Homes became firing positions or shelters, bridges were destroyed, and civilians tried to escape while Russian and Ukrainian forces fought at close range.
Russia also approached Kyiv from the northeast through Chernihiv and Sumy regions, but strong resistance prevented those forces from surrounding the capital. Kyiv remained under missile attack, yet no Russian formation reached the government district or established control inside the city.
The survival of Ukraine's political leadership mattered as much as the battlefield. President Zelenskyy and senior officials continued appearing from Kyiv, frustrating the expectation that flight, capture, or institutional collapse might make prolonged fighting unnecessary.
Withdrawal From Northern Ukraine
By late March, Russia announced that it would reduce operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv while presenting the change as support for negotiations. Its forces instead withdrew through Belarus and Russia, abandoning the northern offensive and shifting combat power toward eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops re-entered Hostomel, Bucha, Irpin, and other communities at the end of March and beginning of April. The retreat exposed ruined neighbourhoods, mined roads, and evidence of killings committed during Russian occupation.
Russia's failure around Kyiv ended the possibility of a rapid national victory. Ukraine retained its capital, government, main institutions, and access to western supply routes, forcing Russia to fight the longer war its opening plan had been designed to avoid.
Hostomel didn't decide the campaign by itself, but the contested runway captured the larger failure in miniature. Russia gained ground and caused enormous destruction, yet couldn't convert surprise and airborne mobility into the political collapse it sought.
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