“It is really time to leave”, civilians flee Irpin, a town near Kiev

Nicolas Tonev 9:41 a.m., March 11, 2022, modified at 9:47 a.m., March 11, 2022

REPORT

While Russian troops are now also pushing on Kiev's eastern front to bring down the capital, on the western front the very localized ceasefires between Irpin and Kiev, the main front, follow one another to allow a maximum number of inhabitants to leave the city.

An impression of last call for a possible departure, while Russian troops nibble the outskirts of this town bordering Kiev.

Slowly but surely, the Russians remain determined to advance in the capital. 

It's really time to go

To the west, the town of Irpin, which adjoins Kiev, is now a ghost town.

Soldiers take advantage of the ceasefire to join the southern front.

Irpin is now emptied of these traumatized civilians.

"There is no gas, no light, no connection, no water, day and night under the bombs. We are trying to get women and children out", testifies a resident of the city at the microphone of Europe 1. 

Do not miss the opportunities to escape.

This fragile Maginot line has battle leprosy.

The road signs are riddled with bullets and shrapnel, the roads are plowed.

The enemy is therefore close, stuck in the earth and sand.

The rocket reserves are clearly visible.

A man and a woman confirm that the enemy is there, in the neighboring locality.

"I don't understand how people are going to get out. It's very complicated," testifies the man.

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War in Ukraine: Irpin close to breaking up, civilians under the bombs

"Over there, there are Russian tanks. In the street, they told people 'go where we are shooting'. The tanks are in front of the entrances", adds the woman.

In the distance, behind them, the wind scatters columns of smoke.

Planes bomb.

It's time, really time to leave.

The Russians are progressing 

Nevertheless, there are still two million people in Kiev.

To reassure or strengthen the morale of the population, the Ukrainian authorities make the best possible use of images which show a certain vulnerability of the enemy.

The televisions broadcast or rebroadcast the images of an attack by a column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles, as a form of self-persuasion.

Many channels also display the slogan "we are strong" on their screens. 

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War in Ukraine: what to remember from the sixteenth day of the Russian invasion

Ukraine is still holding on, despite the terrible losses in the East and the South.

But that does not prevent Russian pressure from building over time.

These are slow advances, for example on Kiev.

The Russians are progressing slowly, but they are progressing, helped in particular by their air force.