FIRST INVESTIGATIONS OF DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF COMBAT ACTIONS

On February 24, 2022, a large-scale invasion of the troops of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine took place. In particular, active hostilities took place on the territory of Kyiv region within the boundaries of the settlements and surrounding them Borodyanka, Makariv, Gostomel, Irpin, Bucha, Vorzel, etc. 
The result was the destruction and damage of a large number of buildings and structures, which suffered shock-explosive and fire damage, not typical for operation in peacetime conditions. It is also necessary to distinguish between direct damage to structures from the impact of ammunition (missiles, shells, mortar mines, large-caliber bullets, etc.) and secondary damage from the action of an explosive air wave. Destruction in places has a large-scale and systemic nature, when, for example, as a result of fire and temperature deformations during heating, cracks develop on the walls in other areas. 
There are also hidden defects, when, for example, internal delamination of brickwork occurs due to impacts. Since state institutions and units of the State Emergency Service did not work in populated areas that were under occupation, the fires did not go out and this led to the deepening of their consequences. For the first time after the de-occupation of the northern regions of Ukraine, the problem of restoring buildings and structures of both critical infrastructure and housing arose, and this problem is relevant during the subsequent liberation of other regions of Ukraine from occupation. 
From April until now, works on conducting surveys of buildings and structures in accordance with the accepted methods and regulations of the Ministry of Regional Building of Ukraine have been ongoing. Although in fact each case is unique, certain regularities can be found in determining the nature of damage and their classification for the purpose of choosing methods of strengthening and repairing structures. 
 In many ways, the quality of the assessment depends on the experience of the expert and the design engineer performing the survey. Thus, in the first months, when surveys were conducted by leading organizations, including state research institutes, conclusions were given about the partial dismantling of buildings and structures, which, when alternative surveys were conducted, turned out to be hasty and erroneous.