Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv) reported that on the eve of the Russian invasion, five An-124 aircraft were withdrawn from Ukraine; An-26, An-74 and An-225 Mriya aircraft were also ready to leave the country on February 24.

"As a result of Russia's hostile actions, the base in Hostomel was destroyed, the base at Sviatoshyne was damaged, the An-26, An-74 aircraft and the flagship of the world aviation fleet An-225 Mriya were destroyed," the statement on the company's Facebook page says.

Antonov said that back in December 2021, the company's management began to develop plans for the possible relocation of the aircraft fleet to Leipzig (Germany). At the same time, at the end of January, against the background of the aggravation of the political situation, the Western partners from NATO began to find out the possibility of uninterrupted support of their tasks by Antonov aircraft in accordance with the current contract.

"Antonov's management carried out a thorough work on the plan of preparatory actions for the redeployment, determined the volume of necessary technical resources and material support. These data were fully provided to the appropriate NATO body (NSPA) in Luxembourg, and in the first ten days of February, work began to determine the necessary resources from their side for material support," the company noted.

In mid-February, due to the unfavorable development of events on the part of Russia and Belarus, according to the enterprise, work was intensified to prepare for the redeployment. The necessary spare parts and consumables, equipment for repair work were prepared, specialists were preparing for a business trip, preparation and loading of An-26, An-74 and An-225 aircraft was carried out. Specialists in the relevant areas of activity were sent to Leipzig in order to inspect the readiness of the work base and the final agreements with the NSRA.

"Thus, five An-124 aircraft were withdrawn from Ukraine, two aircraft that were in the necessary maintenance in a disassembled state - one in the hangar of Hostomel, and one in the hangar of Sviatoshyne - were not able to take off. The An-26, An-74 aircraft were loaded, refueled and ready, people worked in emergency mode, and on the evening of February 23, the sixth engine was mounted on the An-225 in order to fly to Leipzig on February 24 in the morning. But the morning of February 24 brought its well-known terrible adjustments," the company said.