Antonov Is No Coward

Antonov Airport is close to Kiev, Ukraine. It has excellent runway conditions and can take off and land large transport aircraft. It is a strategic fulcrum that directly reaches the core of Kiev. On February 24, 2022, the first day of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the battle for this place became a key turning point in the entire war from "a quick victory for the Russian army" to a "long-term stalemate." Russia's core tactical goal in this battle: the classic airborne beheading style uses elite airborne helicopters to conduct ultra-low-altitude raids to quickly seize the airport and open up air passages. Later, large transport aircraft will be used to deliver heavy troops, cooperate with the northern armored cluster to encircle Kiev, paralyze the Ukrainian command system, and achieve a short-term decisive victory. At the beginning of the battle, the Russian raid went smoothly. After the war started, the Russians quickly landed and took control of the airport. They defeated the small number of defenders at the airport and briefly took control of the airport. However, due to Russian leaks, Ukraine seized the window period before Russian reinforcements arrived and decisively adopted the "self-destruction to block the enemy" tactic, mobilizing rocket launchers and howitzers to continuously bombard the runway and positions, completely destroying the conditions for the takeoff and landing of large transport aircraft, forcing Russia's follow-up heavy airdrop formation to turn back, and the airborne quick victory plan directly went bankrupt. Reinforcements of Ukraine's special operations forces and National Guard arrived and launched multiple rounds of counterattacks against the Russian airborne troops who were alone and lacking heavy firepower and logistical supplies. The two sides continued to see each other for several days, and the airport changed hands repeatedly. Russia was still unable to repair the runway and deploy its main troops. The frontline airborne troops were completely trapped in a desperate situation of passive persistence. This war resulted in: the world's only An-225 super large transport aircraft was damaged and scrapped in the airport war. In the end, the Russian offensive in Kiev was frustrated, the troops withdrew from the northern front, Ukraine regained the airport, and the Russian airborne raid tactics completely failed.