{"id":17653,"date":"2024-03-07T21:12:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T19:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=17653"},"modified":"2024-03-07T21:12:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T19:12:34","slug":"ukraine-how-the-battle-of-hostomel-decided-the-course-of-the-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=17653","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine: How the battle of Hostomel decided the course of the war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There have been battles that changed history, leaving the question, “what would have happened if\u2026” One of them, was that of the Antonov airfield in Khostomel, the first major battle of the Ukrainian war, on February 24, 2022. Khostomel is located 12 miles north of of the Ukrainian capital and belongs to the Municipality of Irpin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day one began at 05:00 with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of war, which literally shocked the entire planet. Almost at the same time, the first reports of missile strikes across the Ukrainian region appear, while the initial visuals are shocking, as we see in action all that we feared in the previous days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One aspect of Russia’s operational plan called for, among other things, a rapid assault on the Antonov Airfield by airborne assault, while motorized forces would be directed from Belarus to Kiev, on two axes, from the west side of the Dnieper River. With the capture of Antonov, Moscow could literally transfer to the gates of Kiev, powerful forces in both equipment and manpower. So he could seize the capital in a short time and overthrow the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, ending in a few 24 hours a war that continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is believed that the Russians chose the Antonov, because of the long airstrip, of course its geographical position, because it was between the two runways of the Russian advance towards Kiev and also because of the terrain morphology in its surroundings, which did not allow for an organized defense.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Russian takeover operation was carried out with 34 Mi-8 Hip helicopters, Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters and some older Mi-24 and Mi-28 attack helicopters. The Mi-8s carried elite units from the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade and the 45th Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade, known as VDV (Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii). The force in question was based at the VD Bolshoy Bokov airfield in Belarus, about 170 kilometers north of Hostomel.<\/p>\n\n\n

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As for the Ukrainian forces, both in Kiev and in Hostomel, the first information was confusing since many of their units had been on the move since the previous night. In particular, the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, which was tasked with the defense of Kiev, was still on the move south of the city, while others around Kiev had not yet reached their deployment sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few minutes after Putin’s announcement, 2 3M-54 Kalibr missiles hit military base 3018 south of the airport. The first rocket landed in an empty training area across from the barracks, while the second hit an adjacent residential unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then 200 men from the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard, under the command of Major Vitalii Rudenko, deploy to the airport and take up defensive positions. The Brigade was a new unit, organized according to NATO standards, combining light infantry, tanks, artillery and surveillance drones. But Kiev was under the mistaken impression that the Russian Army’s main attack would be in the Donbas region, so the bulk of the Brigade had moved southeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 200 people left to guard were largely new conscripts and support personnel. With infantry, tanks, artillery and drones in the east, the Ukrainian defenders had at their disposal small arms, older Igla man-portable air defense systems and at least one ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun. They also had some air support, consisting of two Su-24M bombers and two Mig-29 fighters. The handful of officers who remained had neither the training nor the experience of their regular-level colleagues. This small group had the huge responsibility of defending the airfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the attack, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) “prepared” the terrain of the airstrike runway, destroying or suppressing Ukrainian radars at two large air defense emplacements covering the Dnieper River north of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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