Battle of Antonov Airport

Not to be confused with Battle of Hostomel.
Battle of Antonov Airport
Part of the Northern front during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russian paratroopers at Antonov Airport, 12 March 2022
Date24–25 February 2022
(1 day)
Location
Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine
50°35′27″N 30°12′27″E / 50.59083°N 30.20750°E / 50.59083; 30.20750
Result See: § Analysis
Territorial
changes		 Occupation of Antonov Airport by Russia until 2 April 2022
Belligerents
 Russia  Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
 Ivan Boldyrev[1]  Oleksandr Vdovychenko[1]
 Valeriy Chybineyev
 Mamuka Mamulashvili[2]
 Vitaly Rudenko[1]
Units involved
See order of battle See order of battle
Strength

First assault wave

Second assault wave

  • 200 helicopters (per Russia)[4]
  • Numerous tanks and armored vehicles
  • Unknown number of ground troops
  • 300 in the airport garrison[1]
  • Unknown number of ground troops, tanks, and armored vehicles as reinforcements
  • Several BM-21 (per Russia)
  • At least two Su-24s
  • Several MiG-29s[5]
  • At least two Mi-24s
    • Casualties and losses
    Per Russia:
    None (second assault wave)[4]
    Per Ukraine:
    300–500 paratroopers killed[6][7]
    Several helicopters shot down[8][5]    		 Per Russia:
    200 killed[4]
    Per Ukraine:
    Several Ukrainian National Guardsmen captured[1] Antonov An-225 Mriya destroyed[9]
    Antonov Airport is located in Ukraine
    Antonov Airport
    Antonov Airport
    class=notpageimage|
    Location within Ukraine

    The Battle of Antonov Airport, also known as the battle of Hostomel Airport, was a military engagement which occurred at the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast, during the Kyiv offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    On 24 February 2022, a few hours after the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Russian troops of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) made an air assault on Antonov Airport with the objective of capturing it. The airport held strategic value as it was located less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) outside of the capital Kyiv, which would allow Russian troops to airlift more troops and heavier equipment to directly threaten the city.[10] However, the Ukrainian military responded with a counter-attack which encircled the unsupported Russian forces and repelled the initial assault.[11] The attack resumed on the next day with another air assault by the VDV combined with a ground assault by armored reinforcements coming from the Belarusian border, breaking through the Ukrainian defenses. The airport was then captured by the Russian forces.[11] Despite this, the unexpected Ukrainian resistance foiled the plans for a quick capture of Kyiv,[12] and the airport was too damaged to be used as a functional airstrip.[13] The Antonov An-225 Mriya, the world's largest airplane, was destroyed in its hangar during the battle.

    On 2 April, Ukraine restored control of the airport following the Russian withdrawal from Kyiv Oblast.[14]

    1. ^ a b c d e Paul Sonne; Isabelle Khurshudyan; Serhiy Morgunov; Kostiantyn Khudov (24 August 2022). "Battle for Kyiv: Ukrainian valor, Russian blunders combined to save the capital". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
    2. ^ Andy Blatchford (24 March 2022). "Band of others: Ukraine's legions of foreign soldiers are on the frontline". Politico. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
    3. ^ David Axe (9 December 2022). "Five Brave Ukrainian MiG Pilots Blunted the Russian Attack on Kyiv on Day One of the War. Not All of Them Survived". Forbes. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
    4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference eliminated was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    5. ^ a b Cooper, Tom (25 February 2022). "Russian Heliborne Assault on Antonov / Hostomel Airport seems to have Failed". The Aviation Geek Club. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
    6. ^ Schwirtz, Michael; Troianovski, Anton; Al-Hlou, Yousur; Froliak, Masha; Entous, Adam; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (16 December 2022). "Putin's War". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
    7. ^ HUR’s Top 5 Most Audacious Special Operations
    8. ^ Eydoux, Thomas (24 February 2022). "Images show Russian army 27 km from centre of Kyiv". France24. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
    9. ^ "Gravitas | Destroyed in the Ukraine war: The World's largest aeroplane | AN-225 Mriya". 7 April 2023.
    10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Roblin_20220227 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    11. ^ a b "Эксперт объяснил значение киевского аэродрома Гостомель для спецоперации". MKRU. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
    12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    13. ^ "Ukraine asks for fighters of all ages, reports city lost, but successes elsewhere". The Times of Israel. 25 February 2022. OCLC 969749342. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
    14. ^ Julia Hollingsworth, Joshua Berlinger, Sana Noor Haq, John Sinnott, Adrienne Vogt, Veronica Rocha and Emma Tucker (2 April 2022). "Russian forces have withdrawn from Antonov Airport, outside of Kyiv, satellite images confirm". CNN.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)