War-ravaged Ukrainian city being rebuilt out of the rubble

One of the first Ukrainian cities to be destroyed and then liberated, Irpin is becoming a laboratory for post-war reconstruction, writes Linda Kinstler

Construction is seen on the Irpin bridge that was destroyed to block the Russian advance toward the city last month. Picture: Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

In the final few days of February, as the Russian Army advanced toward Kyiv, Ukrainian forces blew up the Irpin bridge, ripping open its latticed metal insides so that their edges buckled and curled.

A suburb of Kyiv, Irpin was the last city that the Russian Army would have had to conquer to reach the capital; the bridge provided the fastest route from the city center to the Kyiv ring road.