In Pictures

Photos: North of Kyiv, a ruined town emerges as Russia leaves

As Russian troops retreat, the small town of Borodianka, 50km northwest of Kyiv, is left in ruins.

A man walks past destroyed buildings in the town of Borodianka. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

The Russian retreat last week has left behind clues of the battle waged to keep a grip on Borodianka, just 50km (30 miles) northwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

The modest town has been turned inside out. The buildings are flayed open, spilling clothing into the treetops.

A trip along the long straight road through Borodianka is a procession of the grimly absurd.

An apartment block is hollowed by a blast, a charred mattress hangs out in the open sky. A burned-out tank is parked in the guts of a savaged building. Children’s toys are strewn everywhere in the street, too many to count.

Doddering down the muddied central road pushing a trolley of aid parcels, Mykola Kazmyrenko cannot comprehend it.

“I can’t even look at it, it makes me want to cry,” the 57-year-old said. “People are void of their homes.”

“I know five civilians were killed,” said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. “But we don’t know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.”

Though the human cost in Borodianka is not yet fully apparent, the devastation is more complete.

A Ukrainian territorial defence serviceman walks past a destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

People walk past destroyed buildings in the town of Borodyanka, Ukraine. — A man walks past destroyed buildings. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

The wreckage of a car is seen at the central square of Borodianka — The wreckage of a car in Borodianka's central square. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

A woman carries her bicycle past destroyed buildings in the town of — A woman walks past destroyed buildings in Borodianka. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

A man removes trash near the rest of a destroyed Russian armoured personnel — A man removes debris near a destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

People walk past destroyed buildings in the town of Borodianka — Ukrainian officials say the bodies of more than 400 civilians have been recovered from the wider Kyiv region, many had been buried in mass graves. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]

Ukrainian servicemen walk accross a destroyed bridge — The full nature of the destruction in areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together. [Sergei Supinsky/AFP]