The settlement was first mentioned in 1190 with its name recorded as Kozyatici. In 1863 Borodyanka became known for its anti-Russian uprising led by Władysław Żeleński as part of the January Uprising.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Borodyanka was on the main axis of the Russian advance on Kyiv launched on 24 February 2022 and it came under heavy Russian air strikes and artillery shelling early in the war's 2022 campaign. Several apartment buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed. Russian troops blew up bridges and blockaded the area - leaving survivors to starve as supplies couldn't reach the town. Russian soldiers looted shops and residences.
Russian airborne troops had taken Hostomel and its airfield to the south-east of Borodyanka and since there was no big supply route further east along the Dniepr to Hostomel, Borodyanka became a key logistics connection. An infamous convoy ran through the town, entering from the north. Ukrainian forces counter-attacked and destroyed Russian defensive positions in the north-west along the highway.
By 30 March 2022, as the Russian forces - bogged down in a stalemate around Kyiv - withdrew to their launch point in Belarus, Borodyanka had been devastated, its residential blocks left in ruins and civilians trapped in rubble. On 5 April 2022, Ukrainian officials warned that casualties in the town were likely higher than those in nearby Bucha. Inhabitants reported that Russian troops were deliberately targeting them and blocking rescue efforts during their presence in the area. Some people were reported abducted, interrogated and taken to Belarus. The bombardments were at the beginning of March, so in April, those who were hiding in the buildings' basements when they collapsed are dead. Excavation equipment is not readily available, leaving the death toll an early estimate of 200 to 400 people. A curfew was in place until April 7 for de-mining to take place. Volunteers were collecting bodies from accessible spaces.
