Irpin police officer remembers war evacuation

(24 Aug 2022) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4393910 RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Irpin, Kyiv region - 16 August 2022 1. Destroyed bridge HEADLINE: Irpin police officer remembers war evacuation 2. Irpin police officer Ruslan Huseinov walking past damage 3. Crosses on bridge ANNOTATION: Before the Russian withdrawal from Kyiv on April 2, suburbs and towns near the airport were pounded by rockets, artillery fire and aerial bombardment. 4. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Ruslan Huseinov, police officer: "This bridge was the road from hell. We got people out of there because (in Irpin) conditions were terrible with bombing, shelling." ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Irpin, Kyiv region - 5 March 2022 5. Various of people walking from under bridge ANNOTATION: Some of the most dramatic scenes from the early stages of the war were of the evacuation from Irpin, underneath a destroyed highway bridge. ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Irpin, Kyiv region - 7 March 2022 6. Huseinov running with a young girl 7. People running across the road ANNOTATION: Thousands escaped the relentless attacks. 8. Medics and police officers lifting man into ambulance 9. People walking with child; UPSOUND: shelling 10. People running through field; UPSOUND: shelling ANNOTATION: Entire city blocks of apartments were blackened by the shelling in Irpin, just 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of the capital, along a route where Lieutenant Ruslan Huseinov patrolled daily. 11. Car with bullet holes 12. Various of people inside evacuation van ANNOTATION: Huseinov was there for 16 days, organising crossings. ASSOCIATED PRESS Irpin, Kyiv region - 16 August 2022 13. Huseinov walking through bridge 14. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Ruslan Huseinov, police officer: "People witnessed our solidarity. In my mind, everything has changed: My values in life. Now I understand what we have to lose." 15. Huseinov walking through the bridge STORYLINE: Before the Russian withdrawal from Kyiv and surrounding areas on April 2, suburbs and towns near the city's airport were pounded by rockets, artillery fire and aerial bombardment. Entire city blocks of apartments were blackened by the shelling in Irpin, just 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of the capital, along a route where police Lt. Ruslan Huseinov patrolled daily. Some of the most dramatic scenes from the early stages of the war were of the evacuation from Irpin, underneath a destroyed highway bridge, where thousands escaped the relentless attacks. Huseinov was there for 16 days, organising crossings where the elderly were carried along muddy pathways in wheelbarrows. Reconstruction work has begun on the bridge, where mangled concrete and iron bars hang over the river. Clothing and shoes from those who fled can still be seen tangled in the debris. "This bridge was the road from hell," says 34-year-old Huseinov standing next to an overturned white van still lodged into a slab of smashed concrete. "We got people out of (Irpin) because conditions were terrible - with bombing and shelling," he said. He recounted how many lost their children, siblings and members of their family. Crosses made from construction wood are still nailed to the railings of the bridge to honour those lost and the effort to save civilians. "People witnessed our solidarity," says Huseinov, who grew up in Germany and says he would never again take the good things in life for granted. "In my mind, everything has changed: My values in life," he said. "Now I understand what we have to lose." =========================================================== Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...