An-124 Ruslan, spotted over Kiev, is already in Leipzig — Grischuk

The Antonov Airlines AN-124 Ruslan aircraft, which was seen the day before in the sky over Kiev, is now in Leipzig, where the company's fleet is based. This was announced on Facebook❶ by the inspector of the State Aviation Service of Ukraine Fedor Grischuk.

According to him, the aircraft will pass a certification test there.

"The AN-124−100 UR-82073 aircraft is already in Leipzig. And, although the thorny path of certification tests is still ahead, there is hope to see it in the skies of Ukraine," writes Grischuk, quoted by Strana.

According to Aero Time, the plane spotted over Kiev has the registration number UR-82073. Unlike the other sides of the Antonov, it was not damaged during the battles for Gostomel, as it was undergoing maintenance and was located elsewhere.

It is noted that after the start of SMO, Antonov Airlines moved its operating hub to Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, where its fleet of five operating An-124−100 aircraft is based. These aircraft continue to carry out international cargo transportation.

As EADaily reported the day before, an An-124−100 Ruslan, delivering military cargo for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, flew over Kiev at an altitude of about 750 m in the afternoon. At the same time, the board was within the detection radius of the Irbis-E radars of the Su-35S fighters and within the range of the R—37M air-to-air missiles. It could also have been intercepted by the S-300V4 or S-400 air defense system using 8M82MDE and 40N6 anti-aircraft missiles. However, something went wrong: either the A-50U was not in the air, or the patrolling Su-35S over the Bryansk region. How is this possible in the fourth year of a special military operation? It remains to be hoped that the board will be tracked by our Pion-NKS satellites and destroyed by Dagger missiles at a certain enemy airfield.

❶Экстремистская организация, запрещена на территории РФ