Six days into the invasion, the Russians captured the village and an armored column pressed further toward the northern suburbs of the capital. But the Ukrainians mounted a strong resistance, including shooting down several Russian helicopters, stalling the Russian offensive using guerrilla tactics.

The Russians remained inside Moshchun for nearly two weeks, according to Ukrainian troops at the village this week. Most residents fled, then the Russians were pushed out. But gruesome hints of their invading soldiers’ presence are still visible today in the largely abandoned village.

In one house, the corpse of a Russian fighter lay on a kitchen table. He appeared to have been injured in the leg and groin and apparently had been in the middle of surgery when he died, suggesting Russian forces had transformed the house into an emergency medical clinic.

In other corners of the village, there were at least 10 Russian corpses, most of their bodies intact, suggesting they had been killed in street-by-street fighting or possibly shrapnel from a mortar. Fleeing Russians appeared to have left behind gear, including a drenched, olive-green backpack that was filled with bullets. In one trench, Ukrainian soldiers found several large belts of unused Russian ammunition.