Ukraine’s state-owned Antonov Company has flown a refurbished An-124-100 heavy cargo aircraft from Kyiv to Leipzig, Germany, marking the first civilian aircraft to traverse the capital’s airspace since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The aircraft, serial number 0706 and built in 1994, was damaged and grounded during fighting at Hostomel Airport in the opening days of the war. A modernization programme that began in 2021 and concluded in June 2025 replaced Russian parts with Ukrainian and Western systems while repairing combat damage. Footage released by Antonov on 16 July shows the plane—now renamed “Be Brave Like Irpin”—taking off from the Antonov airfield outside Kyiv on 11 July and arriving in Leipzig. The company said the successful relocation restores a key element of Ukraine’s strategic airlift fleet for military logistics and humanitarian missions.