Mayor says Ukrainian forces have retaken Kyiv suburb of Irpin

The mayor of Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv, announced Monday that Ukrainian forces had taken back control of the city after fierce fighting with Russian troops. 

“We have good news today — Irpin has been liberated,” Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said in a video post on Telegram, according to multiple outlets. “We understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously.” 

Markushyn told CNN on Monday that Irpin was freed the night prior and that forces still need to completely clear the town. 

“There are wounded Russian soldiers. They are offering to surrender or they will be destroyed. Irpin is a staging area for an attack. We will [next] liberate Bucha, Vorzel and Hostomel,” he said. 

Asked later on Monday about the mayor’s assertion, a senior U.S. defense official could not independently verify that Irpin was reclaimed.  

“We’ve seen the mayor’s comments. … [We’ve] talked about there being, you know, active fighting and the Ukrainians efforts to take it back, but we’re not in a position now where we can independently verify that they’ve done so,” the official said.  

The official on Friday noted that there was “heavy fighting” in the city, which sits northwest of Kyiv, with Ukrainian forces “trying hard to dislodge the Russians” from the area.