Sometimes, to understand the fundamental issues of war and peace, it is enough to simply look at a map. The Bilohorod community, located to the west-southwest of Kyiv, is inherently assigned the role of one of the keys to the capital of Ukraine due to its location. This was the case even during the time of Prince Volodymyr, the baptizer of Rus, as he is considered the founder of Bilhorod as the main stronghold on the way to the capital. This was also true during the full-scale invasion of the Muscovites into Ukraine in our time.
Bilohorodka at the Beginning of the Moscow Invasion in 2022
The strategic importance of this territory was well understood in enemy headquarters. The fate of the Kyiv defensive operation was largely determined by the fact that the Ukrainian defense forces did not allow the Moscow army to capture the territory of the Bilohorod community and close the encirclement of the capital from the west.
The territory of the community suffered from combat operations and enemy shelling. The official list of territories where combat operations took place and which were affected by the war includes such settlements as Stoyanka, Hnativka, Horenychi, Nehrashi, Muzychy, Luka, Sviatopetrivske, Shevchenkove, and, in fact, Bilohorodka.
Enemy artillery, both barrel and rocket, shelled the positions of the defense forces, but the fire was generally indiscriminate, resulting in damage to the settlements in the community.
Evacuation and Assistance to Civilians
During those days, Bilohorodka became a kind of evacuation hub for residents of the Bucha district. Thousands of people from Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Hostomel, Vorzel, Dmytrivka, and other occupied settlements were heading here. Refugees were trying to reach safer territories and needed food, shelter, transportation, and, most importantly, simple human support. This influx of evacuees posed a serious challenge for local authorities, volunteers, medical personnel, rescuers, and all concerned local residents.
In total, between 50,000 and 70,000 evacuees passed through the community at that time. Among them were people with limited mobility, families with children and pets. Bilohorodka became a point of salvation and hospitality for them after experiencing the horrors of occupation, shelling, and bombings. The Bilohorod community gained invaluable experience. At that time, an evacuation reception point was organized in the market square of Bilohorodka, where a State Emergency Service tent was set up for heating and overnight stays. Volunteers, medical personnel, State Emergency Service psychologists, rescuers, and police officers worked there.
Transportation of people to the railway station in Kyiv was organized, from where evacuation trains headed westward. Others continued their journey along their own routes. In this incredibly difficult yet uplifting time, the community came together to help their neighbors. The residents of Bilohorodka joined the volunteer team, offering accommodation, shelter, and temporary housing.
Today, taking into account the experience gained, Bilohorodka has become the official evacuation center for the Bucha district, where training on evacuating the population in case of emergencies takes place. This chapter in the history of the Bilohorod community has also become a page of the heroic defense of Kyiv and the Kyiv region from February to April 2022.
Bread and More than Just Bread
This chapter contains many entries that need to be recalled from time to time to understand who we are and what we are capable of. For instance, we must remember how the supply of bread was organized. At the beginning of the invasion, people quickly bought up food supplies, there was no delivery of products, and all logistics for supplying essential goods, as well as any other goods, came to a halt.
Under these conditions, the production and supply of bread to all settlements in the community were established. Fuel and essential goods were also delivered—often at great risk to life. The operation of water supply and sewage, energy supply, and constant repair of critical infrastructure damaged due to combat operations were maintained.
This speaks to the titanic, and at times heroic, work that was organized by the leadership of the community, employees of relevant services, volunteers, and all concerned citizens. We stood firm.
Our Days
Despite a certain outflow of the population that occurred at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the overall population of the Bilohorod community is now growing. One of the main factors for this growth is the so-called "temporarily displaced persons," that is, people who have become migrants due to circumstances arising from the war and occupation.
The increase in population is generally a positive economic and humanitarian factor, especially against the backdrop of significant depopulation that Ukraine has been suffering in recent years—again, due to the war. However, the increase in population, particularly during wartime, poses significant challenges, as it occurs under conditions of serious limitations on all types of community resources and creates new demands for infrastructural development.
One of the ways to address current issues is international partnerships with other communities. For example, one community from Sweden hosts children from Bilohorodka for recreation and rehabilitation, while another from Germany supplies equipment for kindergartens. Partnerships with Poland are also developing. We understand well what solidarity means—after all, it helped us endure. We are very grateful for such assistance.
We have shown the whole world, and most importantly, ourselves, that we are a nation capable of uniting and overcoming the most difficult challenges of our time side by side.
