There is a traffic jam heading into the Ukrainian town of Hostomel today, made worse by the bridge over the Irpin River being destroyed as the Russians pushed back in the early days of the war. Now this is just a regular commute from Kyiv to Hostomel, Irpin and Bucha – the sites of some of the worst atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Bombed bridge. (Cristiana Moisescu/CNN)
In Hostomel, life has resumed amid the rubble, broken windows and blackened buildings. The local public market is located back in front of the Hostomel glass factory, which is now damaged and closed. The sounds of the crash echo across the street where the department store is being rebuilt with all new plywood and colorful lettering.
“People are living out of a suitcase here; many have lost their jobs,” said Mikhail Neimet, 48, a shop owner. Shop owner Mikhail Neymet in Hostomel. (Dennis Lapin/CNN)
He watched wearily as the task was carried out. It’s only the second day the shop has been open, which the Russian military said was total.
“I hope things will work out. Hope dies last,” he said.
With higher prices, it is harder to buy and sell in the market. And all the quality fruits and vegetables from the southern regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv, the traditional harvesting areas of Ukraine, are now out of reach, lost under Russian occupation.
Neimet has family in the US and Europe. He could always go there, he said, and leave the country.
“But for what? This is our homeland, we must restore our homeland,” he said. Michael Neimet in his shop. (Cristiana Moisescu/CNN)
Katerina Titova, 35; Alex Titov, 36; and her family is on the way. They left Hostomel on March 4, the day after the Russians bombed their garden, destroying her brand new jewelry workshop as well as a neighbor’s house. The main house had its windows blown out, leaving huge holes in the brick wall and debris embedded inside, among family photos.
The couple left their home on foot after that with their two children, 10-year-old Makar and 5-year-old Taisia, eventually reaching the relative safety of Kiev. When they returned at the end of May, they could not believe that their house was still standing and that the Russians had not entered.
Katerina Titova and their family sit in front of their house. (Dennis Lapin/CNN)
“I’ve been petting it like a cat, saying ‘my love; we’ll fix you up, my love,’” Titova said now, laughing at her own love for this place she calls home.
There was never any question that they wouldn’t come back.
