Ukrainian Antonov An-124 survivor escapes Kyiv to Germany after 3.5 years of repairs
July 15, 2025
An Antonov An-124-100 was spotted on 11 July 2025, has a it took off from Kyiv bound for Germany..
The massive Antonov (NATO reporting name ‘Condor’) strategic military transport had been stuck in Ukraine since the beginning of the war and has only just been able to depart.
Ukrainian An-124 escapes to Germany
After being stuck in Kyiv for 3.5 years, a Ukrainian An-124 successfully escaped to Germany. This particular Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan is a remarkable survivor. It was stuck in Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022.
#Breaking: After three years of absence, an Antonov An-124-100 heavy cargo aircraft from Antonov Airlines has flown over #Kyiv, #Ukraine’s capital. Since February 2022, no civilian aircraft had operated over the city due to the ongoing conflict with #Russia. #UkraineWar pic.twitter.com/4wUOqLKqs3
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) July 11, 2025
This particular aircraft was built in Aviastar-SP in Russia and is 31.6 years old. It was first registered RA-82073 and operated for Russia’s Rossiya in 1994 before being transferred to Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines in 1999 and re-registered UR-82073. It had been stored at Kyiv Sviatoshyn Airport since 2021.
It survived the initial invasion when Russian forces approached Kyiv and briefly occupied Hostomel Airport, where the An-225 Mriya was destroyed. Another An-124, registered UR-82009, was also damaged at Hostomel while undergoing maintenance.
The An-124 at Sviatoshyn Airport then survived countless air raids on Kyiv targeting Ukraine’s airports, air force, and various other targets. Sviatoshyn Airport came under heavy Russian fire during the Battle for Kyiv, with it received extensive damage.
Whereas Ukraine quickly flew its transport aircraft to safety at the beginning of the war, this An-124 was unable to leave the warzone. It had to undergo extensive repairs and receive needed certification before flying out.
An Ukrainian Antonov An-124, which was stuck in Kyiv since the Russian full-scale invasion in February 24, 2022, spectacularly flew from its home port in Ukraine to Leipzig, Germany.
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) July 12, 2025
The heavy transport was surviving countless air raids on the city of Kyiv and had to undergo… pic.twitter.com/MsiFNaZudJ
Respected open-source intelligence account Tendar reported that Russian channels were “fuming” over the event that Russia had failed to destroy the massive sitting duck of a target on the ground after 3.5 years of bombing Kyiv. Russian forces also failed to shoot it down as it made its escape to Germany.
One of 7 Ukrainian Antonov An-124s
Ukraine uses its fleet of An-124s to transport large and heavy supplies to Eastern Europe, where they can be shipped overland into Ukraine.
The world’s largest military strategic transport.
Following the destruction of the world’s only An-225 Myria military transport, the An-124 holds the record for being the world’s largest military transport. These are larger than the C-5M Super Galaxy, the largest transport in the US inventory.
Only 57 examples have been built, mostly in the Ukrainian SSR and independent Ukraine. Less than half of these remain in use today.
They are mostly operated by Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines cargo airline, Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Airlines cargo airline, and by or on behalf of the Russian Air Force.
According to Planespotters.net, the Russian Air Force operates 13 examples, Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines has seven, Russia’s Volga-Dnepr has seven (all of which are parked), Libyan Air Cargo has one parked aircraft, and the UAE’s Maximum Air Cargo has one (also parked).
Russia has some Antonov An-124s stuck too
It’s not just Ukraine that has An-124s stuck since the beginning of the war. While, Planespotters.net records Volga-Dnepr as having seven parked An-124s, a ch-aviation report in November 2024 records it has nine, of which two are active.
Of these, four are stuck and only two are in Russia. Three are stored at Leipzig/Halle in Germany, and one at Toronto Pearson in Canada. These four An-124s have been seized by Canadian and German authorities following sanctions imposed on Russia at the outbreak of the war.
There is ongoing discussion about what to do these these aircraft. There are reports by Ukrainska Pravda that Canada has begun legal proceedings to hand over the one in Toronto to Ukraine. That aircraft was seized after it flew to Canada carrying Chinese-made COVID-19 rapid tests.
Two of the three An-124s also arrived at Germany’s Leipzig just before the outbreak of the war and were promptly seized. The third aircraft has been sitting at Leipzig without engines for years.
