The MTR told how the airport in Gostomel was defended/Screenshot from the video
Protecting the airport in Gostomel was one of the main tasks in the early days of the war. Blocking the landing of enemy troops greatly contributed to the defense of Kyiv.
Special Operations Forces managed to hold the Gostomel airport and not give the enemy a chance to capture Kyiv. The defense of the object was planned to the smallest detail.
Protection of the airport in Gostomel
According to one of the MTR fighters, the morning of February 24 began with anxiety. His unit assembled, arrived at the airport, and planned the defense of the facility. There was information about Il, which should land Russian troops.
The task was to prevent the plane from landing or receiving an attack. We had to suppress the enemy forces in order to buy time for other units, – said the warrior.
Together with the MTR, the National Guard and other specialized units worked. After reconnaissance of the object, everyone took the agreed positions. The defense of the runway was the responsibility of the National Guard, all other units took up positions at other points.
Instead of Il, the landing of enemy troops was carried out by many helicopters. Our heroes brought down two K-52s and one Mi-8, focusing on themselves and preventing the landing force from landing.
Then groups of DRGs of Russians began to operate. Our warriors regrouped, accepted the battle and pressed the enemy. So that an enemy aircraft could not fly behind the helicopters, the runway was “dismantled” from mortars. The MTR and other units repulsed the enemy attack, demoralized him, inflicted losses and prevented him from capturing an important object.
Defending Gostomel
- Airport in Gostomel was supposed to become for the enemy a kind of entry point to Kyiv. The successful holding of the airport prevented the enemy from turning it into a plan to quickly capture the capital.
- As the residents of the city said, the Russians fired at random and committed atrocities against the civilian population.
- Later head of the Kyiv city civil administration Nikolai Zhirnov reported that Gostomel, Irpin, Moshchun were key cities in the defense of Kyiv.
