Having failed to achieve their operational objective, in early April the Russian forces not only withdrew from Hostomel, but from all of Kyiv Oblast, as part of what they called a "goodwill gesture".

As a result, the battle shifted from the airport to the nearby town as the Russian forces began to establish a foothold in Hostomel and press their advance.

[11] Kadyrovites were reported to have moved into the outskirts of the town or into the airport in preparations to assassinate the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Security Service of Ukraine reported that the Kadyrovites convoy consisted of over 250 pieces of equipment and more than 1,500 of the "best fighters of the Chechen Republic".

[13][14] On 26 February 2022, acting on the earlier intelligence report, Ukrainian forces intercepted and destroyed a Chechen strike group tasked with assassinating President Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian National Guard and Alpha Group later attacked those locations, destroying a column of Russian armored vehicles in the process.

[15] Also, according to Ukrainian officials, Magomed Tushayev, a Chechen Lieutenant Colonel and head of the 141st Motorized Regiment of the National Guard of Russia, was killed during the attack.

[19] Residents of Hostomel reported constant shelling and airstrikes by Russian forces had deprived them of water, food, electricity, and medicine.

The constant bombardment also prevented the residents from receiving humanitarian aid, evacuating from the town, or even removing corpses from the street.

[21][22] The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (GUR MO) reported that special forces under their command and local resistance had destroyed 20 Russian BMDs (likely BMD-2 and/or BMD-4) in Hostomel.

The GUR MO reported that the deceased Russian soldiers did not possess any identification documents; only vaccination certifications and blank medical books.

[1][32] Russian forces, reportedly the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade, later returned into Hostomel and occupied a residential complex, taking 40 or more residents hostage.

[37][38][39] On 7 March 2022, the mayor of Hostomel, Yuriy Prylypko, along with several other volunteers, were killed by Russian troops while distributing food and medicine to residents.

[44] On 11 March 2022, residents reported that Russian forces controlled most of Hostomel, making it extremely difficult for civilians to evacuate from the town or receive humanitarian aid.

According to Andriy Nebitov, the head of the Kyiv region police, Ukrainian forces were able to break through Russian positions after conducting artillery strikes.

[52][53] On 1 April 2022, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, claimed that Russian forces had left Hostomel.

[57][58][59] In April 2023, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that prior to the invasion, he was supposed to go to an MoD command post located in Hostomel, but the plans were cancelled and his team was not captured.