Comprehensive recovery: how an entire neighbourhood unit in Irpin is being rebuilt

The repair of homes not only restores physical structures but also plays a crucial role in people’s psychological recovery and in rebuilding the very fabric of communities torn apart by war, says Filippo Grandi.

In Irpin, Kyiv Oblast, near the Irpinski Lypky residential complex, a comprehensive recovery of the entire street is underway, where no houses survived the Russian shelling.

Two years ago, the Russians shelled Bahirna Street with ‘Grads’, mortars and artillery. Not a single house was left standing. Since the outbreak of hostilities in Irpin, more than 300 residents have been left homeless.

MAJOR REPAIRS HAVE ALREADY BEEN CARRIED OUT IN 31 PRIVATE HOUSES, AND ABOUT 40 MORE WILL BE BUILT FROM SCRATCH

Most people have already returned to their renovated houses. Design work started in June and construction began in October 2023. Major repairs have been carried out in 31 private houses, and about 40 more are being rebuilt from scratch.

Viktor Kolpak, a technical supervision engineer at the Kyiv City Council, noted that a new house can be built in less than a year. He said that the construction includes facade works, insulation, sewerage works, water supply, gas supply, plastering, and so on. The new buildings will also have everything you need to live in: underfloor heating, a boiler, a washing machine, and a dishwasher. The houses are being built with wartime in mind — they will have a basement that can be used as a shelter.

It is also planned to renovate the street and sidewalk and install modern lighting.

Rymma’s house has already been restored. The house was insulated, the roof damaged by a shell was repaired, and new windows and doors were installed. The woman stayed here until mid-March 2022, and she and her son helped the military.

‘All my shovels were used for territorial defence. My son and other boys shovelled sand and made barricades. They made Molotov cocktails in the yard. The territorial defence forces came to pick them up. We defended the city as best we could’, the woman said.

At the nearby checkpoint ‘Giraffe’, 20 men from the territorial defence forces of Irpin were killed. There was no fighting on Bahirova Street. The Ukrainian military did not let the enemy in, but the Russians completely destroyed the neighbourhood with ‘Grads’, artillery and mortars.

‘I believe our boys are Heroes of Ukraine. They gave their lives but did not let the enemy into Irpin. The city received the honorary title of “Hero City” thanks to our military. Most of the boys were killed here by tank or artillery fire’, said Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn.

Oleksandr Markushyn and Ruslan Kravchenko

He is confident that Bahirova Street will become one of the best streets in Irpin.

THE RECOVERY OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD UNIT IS AN EXAMPLE OF COMPREHENSIVE RECONSTRUCTION

However, the construction process is still ongoing. By the end of the second quarter of 2024, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration expects to complete this project and move on to rebuild other districts and neighbourhoods.

Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, noted that this location is an example of comprehensive recovery involving all international partners.

‘This neighbourhood unit has attracted funds from the Fund for Elimination of the Consequences of Armed Aggression, the International Organisation for Migration, United24, and more. We have received $1 million worth of windows from the non-profit organisation Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) in partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF) to be installed at the facilities. UNHCR contributed to the purchase of construction materials worth $2.5 million’, said Kravchenko.

UNHCR PROVIDED CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO REBUILD 70 HOUSES

Following the de-occupation of Irpin, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provided construction materials to restore and reconstruct 70 private houses on the street.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi noted that in July 2022, he was here and saw all the destruction caused by the Russians. 

Filippo Grandi

‘Everything was destroyed here, and the reconstruction work was just beginning. Today I am amazed by the results I have seen’, said Grandi.

As the third year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine approaches, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is prioritising its shelter repair programme, which enables individuals and families to stay and repair their homes or return to them after being displaced within Ukraine or as refugees abroad due to Russia’s invasion.

‘The repair of homes not only restores physical structures but also plays a crucial role in people’s psychological recovery and in rebuilding the very fabric of communities torn apart by war. [I] was shocked by the scale of destruction I saw. Coming back to this place and seeing it being rebuilt and full of people gives me hope and shows how UNHCR contributes to people’s and communities’ determination to recover and rebuild’, said Grandi.

In cooperation with the Government of Ukraine and regional and local authorities, UNHCR and its partners have completed more than 27,500 repairs across the country since the escalation of the war in February 2022, and the number is growing every week.

In particular, in regions like Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts, repair and reconstruction activities have taken place, focusing primarily on the repair of private houses and multi-storey buildings where windows have been replaced and renovated.

Apart from long-term repairs to private houses and multi-storey buildings, UNHCR is also providing materials for emergency repairs in the immediate aftermath of attacks, as was the case after the recent shelling in Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa.

Anastasiia Rakuta, Irpin

Photos by Yevhen Kotenko