The Liberation of Kyiv (November 6, 1943). The City That Endured

Autumn, 1943. Smoke and fog hang over the Dnipro River. The water is cold, the bridges are gone, and the city on the opposite bank lies in ruins. From this desolate eastern shore, the Red Army begins one of the most difficult and heroic operations of the Second World War — the battle for Kyiv.

The Occupation

Kyiv had been captured by German forces on September 19, 1941, after seventy-two days of fierce defense. What followed was two years of terror. Over 200,000 people were killed, and tens of thousands were deported to forced labor in Germany.At Babyn Yar, entire families — Jews, partisans, prisoners — were executed. Factories and churches were destroyed; bridges and neighborhoods burned. The once vibrant city had become a silent wasteland.

Crossing the Dnipro

By the autumn of 1943, the Red Army had reached the Dnipro River. The operation to liberate Kyiv began on November 3. The Germans had turned the western bank into a fortress of bunkers, mines, and artillery. Soviet troops crossed the river under relentless fire — often on makeshift rafts or even wooden doors torn from houses.General Nikolai Vatutin made a daring decision: to strike from the north, from the Lutezh bridgehead. The move caught the enemy by surprise.

The Battle for the City

On November 4, street fighting began. The Germans blew up buildings, mined the roads, and set warehouses on fire. Soviet soldiers advanced block by block — engineers clearing mines, tanks crushing barricades, infantry fighting through basements and attics.By dawn on November 6, 1943, units of the 240th Rifle Division reached the city center. At 4 a.m., a red banner was raised over the building of the Supreme Soviet. Kyiv was free.

The Price of Freedom

The liberation came at a terrible cost — tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers were killed or wounded. Survivors recalled: “We couldn’t stop. Behind us was the Dnipro; ahead — our city.”When the battle ended, soldiers and civilians walked through the ruins, calling the names of those who would never answer. Of Kyiv’s pre-war population of 930,000, fewer than 200,000 remained alive.

After the Victory

The next day, November 7, Moscow saluted the liberation of Kyiv with artillery fire. The event marked a turning point — the beginning of the great Soviet advance westward. The city, though shattered, became a symbol of endurance and rebirth.

Today, old newsreels still show that moment: the red flag rising through smoke, the dawn over the Dnipro, and soldiers weeping as they entered their ruined city.Kyiv had survived 778 days of darkness.

And in the words of those who marched through its streets that morning:“We came home.”