25th Transport Aviation Brigade

25th Transport Aviation Brigade
Active	1941 – present
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Air Force
Type	Brigade
Role	Airlift
Garrison/HQ	Melitopol Air Base, Melitopol
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Dmytro Mymrikov
Insignia
Air Force Sleeve patch Left Arm
Roundel
Fin flash
Aviation branch insignia collar
Aircraft flown
Transport	An-26, Il-76

The 25th Transport Aviation Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Air Force based at Melitopol Air Base.

History

The unit was established as the 709 Night Bomber Aviation Regiment in Alatyr, Chuvash ASSR at the end of 1941. On 22 November 1942, it was renamed as 25th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, from 1946 — 25th Guards Transport Aviation Regiment.

In January 1992 the regiment took the oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people.

The brigade was ordered to withdraw from Melitopol on 24 February 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[1]

Operations

Il-76, bort number 76683, at RIAT 2019

• In 1993, 3 Il-76 aircraft of the Brigade delivered humanitarian cargo from Cologne to Tbilisi during a Ukrainian humanitarian mission in Georgia.
• Supported Ukrainian operations in UN missions in the former Yugoslavia (IFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNPROFOR and UNTAES in Croatia, KFor in Kosovo), the Middle East (Southern Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq), and Africa (Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia).
• Brigade was involved in a "Ukraine - North Pole - 2000" Ukraine parachute expedition to the North Pole in 2000.
• Operation "Northern Falcon" is a joint Ukrainian-Danish operation for the transportation of fuel from the US Air Force "Thule" to the Danish Polar Station "Nord" by the military transport aircraft IL-76MD. It has been conducted annually since 2009. ^[2]
• Supported the evacuation of Ukrainian Citizens from Libya in 2011.
• Supported the evacuation of Ukrainian Citizens from Syria in 2013.
• Supported the evacuation of Ukrainian Citizens from Nepal in 2015.
• Airlift support to NATO operations in Mali.
• On 8 January 2020, transport aircraft of the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade IL-76 has flown out from the Boryspil International Airport to the crash site of the Ukrainian International Airlines flight which took place near Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. ^[3]
• On 19 January 2020 the bodies of 11 Ukrainian citizens, who died in the crash, were returned to Ukraine in a solemn ceremony at the Boryspil International Airport. The coffins, which were each draped in a Ukrainian flag, were carried one by one from a Ukrainian Il-76 military plane. ^[4]

Aircraft

• An-26
• Il-76

List of aircraft

Tail Number	Type	Status	Note
UR-76322	Il-76	Destroyed in the ground by a Russian attack on Melitopol Air Base- 24 February 2025. [5]	Aircraft was stored before its destruction.
UR-76697	Il-76	Captured by Russian Forces on Melitopol Airbase - 1 May 2022. [6]	Stored in non-operational condition.
UR-76699	Il-76	Destroyed in the ground by a Russian attack on Melitopol Air Base- 24 February 2025. [7]	One crewmember was killed in the ground.
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]
UR-	Il-76	Operational aircraft stationed on Poland [5]

Accidents

Main article: Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 shoot-down

• On June 13, 2014, an IL-76 Transport was shot down, killing forty 25th Airborne Brigade troopers near Luhansk, Ukraine. “On the night of June 13–14, firing from an anti-aircraft gun and a large-caliber machine gun, anti-regime forces cynically and treacherously shot down an Ukraine armed forces transport plane IL-76 which was bringing personnel for rotation,” said in a statement posted on the Defense Ministry's official website. ^[8]

References

1. Joshua Yaffa (2022-05-16). "A Ukrainian City Under a Violent New Regime". The New Yorker . Retrieved 2024-03-12.
2. ""Ukrainian-Danish fuel transportation operation "Northern Falcon 2019" has started". Ukraine.um.dk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
3. "Aircraft IL-76 of the Ukrainian Air Force has flown to Iran".
4. "Bodies of 11 Ukrainians killed in Iran plane crash sent home". River Bender. Retrieved 19 January 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "The fate of Ukraine's Il-76TD 'Candid' fleet revealed". Key Aero. 4 May 2023.
6. "Aviation Safety Ocurrence # 346334". 7 August 2022.
7. "Two IL-76MD strategic airlifter were destroyed from Russian strikes at Melitopol Air Base, Ukraine". AirLive. 7 April 2022.
8. "49 die as pro-Russia rebels down Ukraine army plane". Los Angeles Times. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.