Published
Video length: 2 min
War in Ukraine: the new Irpin bridge, a symbol of rebirth
A bridge full of pain. 41 residents died crossing it. – (FRANCE 2)
Destroyed at the start of the war, the Irpin bridge was replaced by a new building. The rubble of the old passage marks the suffering experienced by the inhabitants.
A brand new bridge. For Irpin (Ukraine) ancient martyr city, the symbol of rebirth. No one has forgotten the images of the first days of the war in February 2022. Residents trying to flee their bombed city to reach kyiv, with the concrete of the bridge as their only refuge. Tatiana Blizniuk was one of these desperate figures. She agrees to return to the old bridge, destroyed by the Ukrainians to prevent the Russians from advancing on the capital. It is preserved as a memorial next to the new building. “This is the first time I’ve been back here since the day it happened. I was so scared, to reach the bridge we had to advance under the bombs“, she explains.
“The road of life”
A bridge full of pain. 41 residents died crossing it. The mayor of the city also remembers the new work, but he prefers to think about the future: “This bridge is now part of our history. Here, more than 40,000 residents have been evacuated. It is the bridge between death and life. This is why we call it today the road of life“.”The reopening of the Irpin bridge is particularly symbolic at this time. A little hope as the counter-offensive slips and the cold settles permanently on the country“, underlines Stéphanie Perez, special correspondent in Irpin.
