The Hostomel Airport “Antonov” became a key battleground as Russian airborne forces made multiple attempts to land there to facilitate a further advance on Kyiv. Ukrainian forces did everything possible to thwart these efforts, shooting down helicopters along with their crews from the ground. The battle was intense, as the enemy returned fire. The defense of Hostomel Airport was led by the National Guard of Ukraine alongside special forces of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Ultimately, Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw, but the battle resumed soon after. This time, the Defense Forces launched a counterattack when Russian troops had already established positions at the airport. Their objective was to damage the runway to prevent further Russian reinforcements from landing via air transport. In doing so, Ukrainian defenders successfully disrupted the enemy’s “aerial supply bridge”, which the invaders had attempted to establish.

This airport was also home to the “Mriya”, the largest cargo aircraft in the world and a symbol of Ukrainian engineering excellence. In 1989, the aircraft took off carrying a record-breaking 156.3-ton payload, with the flight lasting 3 hours and 45 minutes. During that time, “Mriya” set 110 world records for speed, altitude, and cargo capacity — a number that later increased to 124.

Unfortunately, “Mriya” could not be saved. According to Antonov State Enterprise, in addition to “Mriya”, two other aircraft — An-26 and An-74 — were also destroyed during the intense battles, while seven more suffered severe damage.