Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines has successfully returned to service one of its An-124-100 Ruslan airlifters, which had been left stranded in in Kyiv in a state of disassembly as a result of Russia’s invasion of the country.
The An-124, registered as UR-82073, took off from its home airfield in Kyiv on 11 July 2025 and landed in Leipzig in Germany, to where Antonov Airlines moved its operations centre after the Russians attacked. The carrier now operates five An-124-100s from its base in Leipzig, from where the state-owned airline continues to fly missions in support of the Ukrainian armed forces as well as conducting commercial deliveries of oversized cargo.
According to Ukrainian online news outlet Militarnyi, aircraft UR-82073 was built in 1994 and has logged over 21,000 flight hours and completed over 5,500 flights. In 2021, however, the aircraft was brought to Kyiv for an upgrade designed to replace all critical components previously sourced from Russia with Ukrainian- and Western-made components. It was thus in a state of complete disassembly when the Russian invasion happened and, although work on the aircraft was initially halted due to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian engineers resumed their work and the upgrade was completed in June 2025.
Antonov stated of the resurrection of aircraft UR-82073, “The relocation of the Ruslan is not just a technical achievement; it symbolises the resilience, professionalism, and unity of Ukrainian aircraft engineers.”
During the Battle of Hostomel Airport on 24-25 February 2022, on the first days of the Russian invasion, Antonov Airlines lost three aircraft: an An-26 twin-engined turboprop transport aircraft, an An-74 twin-jet transport aircraft and Antonov’s sole An-225 Mriya heavy airlifter. The airline is now believed to have a fleet of seven An-124s at Leipzig, of which five are active.
