A group of European heads of state and government led by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Irpin in Ukraine on Thursday. Similar to neighboring Bucha, almost 300 civilians, some of whom were executed, were found in the Kiev suburb after the Russian troops withdrew at the end of March.
Scholz arrived there late in the morning with French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian Head of State Klaus Iohannis.
KEYSTONE/EPA/LUDOVIC MARIN
The special envoy of the Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyj for a prospect of EU membership, Oleksiy Chernyshev, led the four top politicians in Irpin past the ruins of houses that had been damaged by Russian shelling. Scholz, Macron, Draghi and Iohannis want to send a signal of solidarity in Ukraine with the country attacked by Russia.
Before the war, almost 60,000 people lived in Irpin. The Russian troops could not completely conquer the village, but approached the city limits of the capital to within a few kilometers.
Normal life has largely resumed in Irpin. Bus and rail connections have been revived, a temporary bridge replaces the river crossing that was blown up when the Ukrainians retreated, residents have returned and clean-up work is taking place everywhere. However, the destruction caused by the Russian attack is still evident.