Russian paratroopers' doomed raid to take airport

Russian paratroopers’ doomed raid to take airport: Video shows elite troops before they were wiped out at battle of Hostomel at the start of invasion as Russia admits five were killed in ‘special operation’

  • Russian troops were filmed in their first assault on Hostomel air base in Ukraine
  • Footage shows at least eight Russian soldiers stepping out of a plane at the site
  • Moscow has admitted five paratroopers have been killed in a ‘special operation’

Russian paratroopers were filmed at Hostomel airbase on the first day of the invasion before being wiped out by Ukrainian forces in their doomed bid to take the site. 

Footage posted online purports to show at least eight Russian troops getting out of a helicopter at the airbase on February 24. 

Plumes of dark, black smoke can be seen rising from what is thought to be air base in the background, which the Russian soldiers appear to have swarmed. 

The soldiers, who seem to have swarmed the site, then appear to attack a shed, taking up covering positions behind nearby buildings.  

Moscow meanwhile has acknowledged five paratroopers were killed in a ‘special operation’, thought to be the assault on Hostomel in the first hours of the invasion, though this was not confirmed. 

It comes as the bulk of Russian ground forces were today within 15 miles of Kyiv’s centre though elements of the large column had dispersed in a bid to encircle the capital after pummelling the northwest suburbs including Irpin and Bucha. 

Russian armoured vehicles are still slowly advancing on Kyiv’s northeast after being stalled for days, and a military airfield south of the city in Vasylkiv has been hit by missiles, destroying the runway, a fuel depot and an ammunition store.  

A column of thick black smoke was seen rising from the eastern suburbs of Kyiv this morning, but there is still no sign of ground forces moving into the outskirts.    

Russian paratroopers were filmed at Hostomel airbase on the first day of the invasion before being wiped out by Ukrainian forces in their doomed bid to take the site

Plumes of dark, black smoke can be seen rising from what is thought to be air base in the background, which the Russian soldiers appear to have swarmed

Footage posted online purports to show at least eight Russian troops getting out of a helicopter at the airbase on February 24

Moscow has acknowledged five paratroopers were killed in a ‘special operation’, thought to be the assault on Hostomel in the first hours of the invasion, though this was not confirmed

Moscow on Saturday acknowledged the death of five paratroopers – joining the thousands of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s men that Kyiv claims to have captured or killed.     

Pictures show the airborne troops felled in the ‘special operation’ – all decorated posthumously with the Order of Courage in a decree by the Kremlin president.

The overall death toll suffered by Russia remains secret, but more cases of ‘heroes’ who died in combat are being revealed, even though they remain a fraction of the suspected total.

Four of the paratroopers were from the republic of Buryatia in Siberia, fitting a pattern that has seen many of these acknowledged as slain as coming from the east of Russia.

Ahead of the war, Putin ordered ‘exercises’ which involved tens of thousands of troops being deployed on the Trans-Siberian railway thousands of miles across Russia.

The dead – laid to rest at a ceremony in Ulan-Ude, the regional capital, – were identified as: Captain Alexander Shokun, 40, from Chita, described as a platoon commander; Senior Sergeant Alexander Mikhalev, 32, from Ulan-Ude, and described as a No 2 commander in his unit.

Two others confirmed dead were: Sergeant Anton Voronov, 30, from Ulan-Ude, a sub-unit commander; Corporal Yevgeny Romanov, 33, from Ulan-Ude.

An official citation said the men, from the 11th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, had been awarded for their ‘valour and heroism’. Family members attended a joint memorial ceremony for the fallen ‘heroes’.

One of the dead – laid to rest at a ceremony in Ulan-Ude, the regional capital, – was identified as: Captain Alexander Shokun, 40, from Chita, described as a platoon commander

Among the dead was Senior Sergeant Alexander Mikhalev, 32, from Ulan-Ude, and described as a No 2 commander in his unit

Among those killed at Hostomel airbase was Sergeant Anton Voronov, 30, from Ulan-Ude, a sub-unit commander

Among the dead was Corporal Yevgeny Romanov, 33, from Ulan-Ude

Another soldier declared by Russia to have lost his life was Roman Filatov, 27, from Chita in Siberia. He was also a paratrooper, according to a statement, serving in the 56th landing assault brigade.

Others killed include 21-year-old Lt Vitaly Glob, also from Siberia. A citation from the Patriotic Club of Chita stated: ‘Vitaly chose a difficult and noble path of Defender of the Fatherland.

‘He is a real hero, which will forever remain for us all the example of courage and courage, loyalty to his debt.’

He, too, was awarded the Order of Courage by Putin, and was buried in Sevastopol, in Crimea, in an ‘honorary alley’ for the ‘heroes of the Soviet Union’.

Military medic Dabma Mitupov, 25, a Buddhist soldier, died after being sent to military drills in Belarus ahead of the invasion of Ukraine. He will be buried in his native TransBaikal region by Buddhist traditions.  

Another soldier declared by Russia to have lost his life was Roman Filatov, 27, from Chita in Siberia. He was also a paratrooper serving in the 56th landing assault brigade

Others killed include 21-year-old Lt Vitaly Glob, also from Siberia. A citation from the Patriotic Club of Chita stated: ‘Vitaly chose a difficult and noble path of Defender of the Fatherland’

Military medic Dabma Mitupov, 25, a Buddhist soldier, died after being sent to military drills in Belarus ahead of the invasion of Ukraine. He will be buried in his native TransBaikal region by Buddhist traditions

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