The Irpin or Irpen (; ) is a river in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, a

right tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

river. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .

Irpin Irpin ( uk, Ірпі́нь, ) is a Hero City of Ukraine located on the Irpin River in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) right next to the city of Kyiv in northern Ukraine. Irpin hosts the administration of Irpin urban hromada, one of the hroma ...

city is one of the urban settlements beside the river.Ирпень (река в УССР)

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

The original confluence of the Irpin and the Dnieper is beneath the surface of the

Kyiv Reservoir The Kyiv Cistern ( uk, Київське водосховище, translit=Kyyivs’ke vodoskhovyshche), locally the Kyiv Sea, is a large Reservoir (water), water reservoir located on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. Named after the city of Kyiv, whi ...

, which was formed by the dam for the

Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant Kyiv Hydroelectric Station is a run-of-river power plant on the Dnieper River in Vyshhorod, Ukraine. The long dam creates the Kyiv Reservoir with the purpose of hydroelectric power generation and navigability with the dam's associated lock. The f ...

in the mid-1960s. A second dam, immediately south of the village of , was built to stop the reservoir from inundating more of the Irpin river basin. The Irpin reaches the dam 6.5–7 meters below the level of the reservoir and electrical pumps raise it into the reservoir. The lands around the Irpin were the heartland of

Kyivan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

, and the chronicles mention the river in connection with several important historic events, such as the

Battle on the Irpin River The Battle on the Irpin River is a semi-legendary battle between the armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Principality of Kiev. According to the story, Gediminas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, conquered Volhynia before turning his attention ...

of 1321 in which the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

(Gedemin) allegedly gained control over the lands of what is now central Ukraine. The river also defended Kyiv from German invasion during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Prior to the creation of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-era dams, the Irpin basin was a biodiverse

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. In the first two days of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

destroyed the three lower bridges over the river, north-west of

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, to hinder the Russian advance on the city. The bridges were at the village of Demydiv (near Kyiv Reservoir) and two at Irpin city. Ukrainian troops also opened the Kozarovychi dam on the second day of the invasion, to flood the Irpin basin, including houses in Demydiv. The flooding effectively created a shallow lake that prevented Russian vehicles from advancing across it. Russian shelling later damaged the dam, which made it more difficult for the Ukrainians to drain the area after the Russians had withdrawn. Ecologists argue that the dams should not be rebuilt and that the wetland should be protected and restored.

References

External links

{{Authority control Irpin Rivers of Kyiv Oblast