More than 400 civilians missing in Hostomel
More than 400 residents of the town of Hostomel, Bucha district, Kyiv region, have been reported missing after 35 days of Russian occupation, Head of the Hostomel town military administration Taras Dumenko has said.
"We are now inspecting the basements of Hostomel together with the State Emergency Service and patrol police. We have about 1,200 residents, with whom contact has been confirmed and who have told us about the whereabouts of those who have left," Dumenko said in an interview with Hromadske Radio.
According to him, not many bodies of killed residents were found in Hostomel, but the killed residents of the town were found in the villages of the Hostomel amalgamated territorial community and in the neighboring town of Bucha.
"You have to understand that the invaders moved people around. We have confirmed information that people from Hlebivka traveled to Hostomel before communication with them ended," he said.
Dumenko also said that the Russians cleaned up the traces of their atrocities.
"You could move in the direction of Hostomel and along the road, where there were shot up cars and corpses, including dead children. And you could drive back and these bodies were gone. My hypothesis is that the more at ease the invaders felt in some areas, away from the front line, the more carefully they covered their traces," he said.
He said that in Hostomel, Russian troops killed the head of the settlement, Yuriy Prylypko, along with volunteers Ruslan Karpenko and Ivan Zoria, whose dead bodies were found.
"We have a doctor who provided medical care for 35 days in Hostomel, when the town was occupied and under shelling. Her husband and son were taken away from her 12 days ago. We are still looking for them. In addition, we are looking for the body of the fire chief of Hostomel's airport," Dumenko said.
According to his estimates, about 5,000 now live in the Hostomel community, which, in addition to Hostomel, includes the villages of Horenka, Moschun and Ozera.
In 2020, 25,800 inhabitants lived in the community, and 16,900 in Hostomel.
