When the Russian occupation of Bucha in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine ended in March 2022, widespread destruction was revealed, and a UN commission concluded that war crimes had been committed against the civilian population. Two years on, life is returning to the town on Kyiv's outskirts and nearby Irpin, which have been restored with UN support.

'They were flying by helicopter from the direction of the cargo airport in Hostomel [north of Bucha]. Then they marched with tanks along Vokzalna Street, crossed the railway and moved in the direction of Kyiv,' said Mykhaylina Skoryk-Shkarivska, founder of the Institute for Sustainable Development of Communities in Bucha and deputy of the Irpin City Council, recalling the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion.