Battle of Antonov Airport
Antonov Airport Battle
Antonov Airport Battle
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv offensive.
Взятие под контроль aэродрома на территории Украины 004.png
Antonov Airport Russian forces
24–25 February 2022
(1 day)
Location
Antonov Airport, Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast
50°35′27′′N 30°12′27′′E Coordinates:
Aftermath and Analysis
Territorial
Russia seizes Antonov Airport (subsequent Russian withdrawal on 28 March 2022)
Belligerents
Commandants
Ivan Boldyrev[1] Oleksandr Vdovychenko[1]
Valeriy Chybineyev
Ukraine Mamulashvili[2].
Vitaly Rudenko[1]
Teams
Russian Army
Russian Paratroopers
11th Guards Air Assault Brigade[3].
31st Guards Air Assault Brigade[4].
RAF
Russian Guard
141st Motorized Regiment ("Kadyrovites")[5].
UAF
UAF
7th Tactical Aviation Brigade
40th Tactical Aviation Brigade[6].
UAF [7]
Ukrainian Army
72nd Mechanized Brigade[1]
Georgian Legion[2][8][9]
SOF
3rd Special Purpose Regiment[10]
TDF
Ukrainian National Guard[10].
4th Rapid Reaction Brigade[10]
UkrSecurity
Alpha Group
Militia [10]
Strength
Initial attack
20–34 copters
Mi-8s
Multi-Ka-52s
100–300 airborne troops
Su-25s
Second attack
200 helicopters (Russia)[11].
Many tanks and armored vehicles
Ground troops unknown.
300 airport garrison[1].
Unknown ground troops, tanks, and armored vehicles as reinforcements
BM-21 (per Russia)
Su-24s
MiG-29s[12].
Mi-24s
Damages
Russia:
None (second attack wave)[11].
Ukraine:
Russia:
200 dead[11].
Ukraine:
Several Ukrainian National Guardsmen captured[1].
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2022 Russia invades Ukraine
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine's Kyiv push included the Battle of Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast.
The Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) attacked Antonov Airport on February 24, 2022, hours after President Vladimir Putin launched a "special military action" in Ukraine. The airport was strategically important because it was less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Kyiv, allowing Russian troops to airlift more troops and heavier equipment to directly threaten the city. [6] The Ukrainian military responded with a counter-attack that encircled the unsupported Russian forces and repelled the initial assault. [14] The VDV launched another air and ground assault the next day. Despite this, the unexpected Ukrainian resistance defeated the plans of a fast capitulation of Kyiv,[7] and the airport was too damaged to be used as an airfield .[15]
The conflict destroyed the world's largest airplane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, in its hangar.
Contents
1 Background
2 Battle
24-February-2022
25 February 2022
3 Analysis
4 Aftermath
Likewise
6 References
Citation
7.
Background
2012 Antonov Airport
Antonov Airport, also known as Hostomel Airport, is a large international freight airport in Kyiv's suburb of Hostomel. Ukrainian aerospace and air defense corporation Antonov State Enterprise owned and administered the airport. The Ukrainian Air Force employed the Antonov An-225 Mriya, the world's largest airplane, at the airport[16][17].
Hostomel was strategically vital since it was 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Kyiv and could provide quick access to the city. [6] The CIA got extensive information about Russian military plans before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In January 2022, CIA director William J. Burns traveled to Ukraine and informed the Ukrainian leadership that Russia intended to capture Antonov Airport for an airbridge to quickly move into Kyiv to "decapitate the government"[18]. Analysts believed that President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the rest of the Russian leadership believed that such a quick operation would throw Ukraine into disarray, resulting in the collapse of the Ukraini. Madison Policy Forum analyst John Spencer argued that this would have secured a military victory for Russia, albeit probably producing a massive Ukrainian insurgency.[19] However, the CIA warning helped the Ukrainian military prepare for a possible attack on Antonov Airport.[17][20] The airport only held a small garrison of about 300 National Guard troops, as the rest had been moved to the frontline in eastern Ukraine .[1]
Battle
24-February-2022
Russian airborne troops pass an Antonov An-225 Mriya hangar at Antonov Airport.
24 February cockpit view of a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter flying low over Antonov Airport. The Ka-52 supported the landing Russian forces by covering a Russian Mi-8 transport chopper with paratroopers. After evading several MANPADS, the Ka-52 crashed in a field. The crew dismounted the Ka-52 and took defensive positions to await evacuation by another Russian helicopter strike group heading to Antonov Airport. The Antonov An-225 Mriya hangar is visible on the left of the middle photograph.
Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine at 5:30 am local time on February 24, 2022. Around 8:00 a.m. 20–34 Russian helicopters arrived to secure Antonov Airport in Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, to build an airbridge for troops and materiel to muster less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Kyiv. Ka-52 attack aircraft accompanied Mi-8s carrying 100–300 Russian airborne infantry. Civilians and soldiers filmed the air assault, which may have involved the 11th or 31st Guards Air Assault Brigades. Russian helicopters flew low from the Dnieper River and were promptly assaulted by Ukrainian small weapons and MANPADS. Russian helicopters flared. Several Mi-8s were hit and hit the water.[12] At least one Ka-52 was shot down and its two pilots ejected.[22][6] The helicopters prepared the airborne landing by attacking the airport with rockets.[19][17] Some Ukrainian air defenses at the airport were precisely hit and destroyed during this initial attack; Ukrainian officials later concluded that an airport employee had been hired by Russian intelligence to reveal these positions .[17]
The 300 Ukrainian defenders were poorly prepared and included many draftees who had never seen combat before the Russian airborne battalions landed. One national guardsman, Serhiy Falatyuk, shot down a Russian helicopter with a 9K38 Igla, "raising" the conscripts. Ukrainian air defenses improved with fighting. Russian commander Capt. Ivan Boldyrev's helicopter was hit and forced to make an emergency landing.[1] As the Russian paratroopers landed in increasing numbers and fanned out, the Ukrainian garrison was overwhelmed.[1][10] The Russian forces were able to secure the airport.[6] Despite the CIA's warning, the Ukrainian military was surprised by the speed of the initial Russian attack .[23]
After defeating the Ukrainians, the paratroops were attacked by local armed citizens and the 3rd Special Purpose Regiment [10]. The Ukrainians then bombarded the airfield with heavy artillery. Ukrainian Gen. Valery Zaluzhny recognized the danger of the Russian bridgehead at Hostomel and ordered the 72nd Mechanized Brigade under Col. Oleksandr Vdovychenko to organize a counter-attack. At the "critical moment" of the battle, the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade of the National Guard, backed by the Ukrainian Air Force, launched a large-scale Ukrainian counterattack. Lacking armored vehicles, the Russian forces relied on air support to stave off the Ukrainian counterattack. Two Russian Su-25s attacked Ukraine. Ukrainian airplanes, including at least two Su-24s and a MiG-29, supported the National Guard battalions. [6] The Ukrainians quickly sent more troops to the airport to help the counterattack. These reinforcements included the Georgian Legion[8] and a Ukrainian Air Assault Forces unit[7]. With the combat unfolding, Russian Il-76s carrying reinforcements could not land, perhaps forcing them to return to Russia .[23]
Ukrainian military units surrounded the airport and pushed back the Russian forces by evening, forcing remaining Russian airborne troops to retreat to forests outside the airport.[6][24][25][26][27] Georgian Legion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili later claimed that his men ran out of ammunition in the battle, so he used his car to run over retreating Russian paratroopers.[8] Later, the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade posted an image of their victory on Facebook .[10]
The conflict began at the airport with the world's largest airliner, the Antonov An-225 Mriya. Despite the combat, an Antonov pilot reported that the Mriya was intact. On 27 February, a Ukroboronprom press statement claimed that a Russian airstrike had destroyed it. On 4 March, Russian state-owned television channel Channel One Russia released footage of the Mriya's destruction .[30]
25 February 2022
After partially breaking through Ukrainian defenses at the Battle of Ivankiv, Russian mechanized ground forces advancing from Belarus and another air assault by the VDV took control of the airport on February 25, 2022. [21][31] Some of the armored vehicles were ambushed before reaching Hostomel, but they entered the airport and helped expel the Ukrainian defenders. [10] According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, The allegation of 200 Ukrainian casualties and no Russian casualties was regarded with skepticism, with Timur Olevsky, a journalist who observed the combat, directly contradicting it.[6][21] However, Russian ground forces secured a footing in Hostomel and began to operate checkpoints inside the town. Ukrainian defenders may have destroyed the runway before the Russian ground forces arrived .[6]
The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs first said that the airport was "changing hands" and that the conflict was ongoing. The Ministry of Internal Affairs called the Russian claim of huge Ukrainian casualties "an absolute lie,"[33] while the Ministry of Defence said the airfield was too damaged for Russian troops to use. Later that day, Ukraine verified that Russian forces controlled the airport .[34]
Airport and civil servants exit under Ukrainian National Guard protection.
Analysis
Security researcher Andrew McGregor called the Antonov Airport combat "Russian Airborne Disaster". He said the initial Russian operation was to allow the invasion forces into Kyiv early to conclude the war in a day or two. Instead, Russian intelligence anticipated token defenses and failed to analyze Ukrainian forces near the airport. The first landing force was destroyed because it was too small to defend the locality and the Russian military was unable to secure air transport for reinforcements or prevent Ukrainian counter-attacks. McGregor said that Russia's potential to quickly terminate the war was lost when Antonov Airport and Vasylkiv Airport were not taken at the invasion's commencement .[10]
The Atlantic Council's researchers also argued that Ukraine's ability to defend the airport for two days "possibly prevented[ed] a rapid capture" of Kyiv by Russia.[35] Michael Shoebridge of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute claimed that "the rapid strike was meant to paralyse the central government and demoralise the Ukrainian forces," but failed.[23] Royal United Services Institute associate director Jonathan Eyal described the initial Russian attack on Kyiv. "Russia lost the battle for Kyiv with its hasty assault" on the airport, according to journalist Patrick J. McDonnell. [19] Researchers Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans argued that the operation failed due to the Ukrainian defense at the airport and the Russian advance being stalled in the Battle of Hostomel. Thus, many Russian troops and equipment were left at Antonov Airport, under persistent Ukrainian fire. The battles for Antonov Airport and Hostomel "broke the back of the Russian assault on Kyiv," according to Mitzer and Oliemans [17]. According to researcher Severin Pleyer, the Russian military's general failures during the invasion included problems with main weapon systems, logistics, coordination, planning, leadership, and training. "Artillery fire aimed at the runway and disembarkation sites delayed the landing significantly and frustrated the plan to capture Kyiv," said Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, adding that the fall of the airport "played a negative role" for the Ukrainian forces .[1]
The Battle of Antonov Airport, along with other battles during the invasion, disproved Russia's propaganda about the Russian Airborne Forces' extreme capabilities and near-invincibility. Pleyer called the first day of fighting the worst defeat in recent history for the Russian Airborne Forces .[37]
Russian forces partially restored the airport's landing fields few days after its seizure, but it mostly became a hub for storing equipment and housing troops.
Aftermath
Hostomel Battle
An-225 wreckage
Ukrainian forces fought Russian forces in Hostomel after losing the airport. Eyewitnesses recorded a Russian tank column burning in the distance and Ukrainian Mi-24s firing rockets at Russian positions.[6] Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed that Ukrainian forces deployed BM-21 Grad in Kyiv to bombard Russian forces occupying the airport.[38] Olevsky estimated that Russian and Ukrainian casualties may number in the hundreds .[39]
On 26 February 2022, Ukrainian forces claimed that the Ukrainian Alpha Group unit destroyed a column of Russian armored vehicles near Hostomel.[40][41] Verkhovna Rada member Sophia Fedyna [uk; ru] claimed that Russian spetsnaz captured Ukrainian National Guard members and were wearing their uniforms. She asked Ukrainians and fighters to speak exclusively Ukrainian to identify Russian saboteurs.[42][43][44]
As of 27 February 2022, the airport remained under Russian control as clashes began to shift to Bucha and Irpin to the south,[45] where Ukrainian forces claimed to have halted the Russian advances, contesting Russian forces in Hostomel amid intense fighting.[46][47][48][49] On 27 February, the Security Service of Ukraine released an alleged intercepted conversation of Russian forces in Hostomel reporting casualties and requesting evacuation.[50][51]
On March 29, 2022, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Fomin announced the evacuation of Russian military from Kyiv, including the abandoning of Hostomel Airport. Satellite imaging indicated no Russian personnel within the airport .[59]
After a large-scale Russian withdrawal along the Kyiv axis, Ukrainian forces retook the airport on 2 April. [60] Russian troops destroyed most of their own equipment in their retreat, while the Ukrainians took other equipment intact. Before withdrawing, Ukrainian artillery destroyed further Russian assets. At Antonov Airport, Russia lost seven armoured combat vehicles, 23 infantry fighting vehicles, three armoured personnel carriers, one anti-aircraft gun, two field artillery pieces, three helicopters, and 67 trucks, cars, and jeeps .[17]