Direct proof of use
Ukrainian sources document the Aero L-39 Albatros family in Ukrainian service during the Russia-Ukraine War. ArmyInform reported in March 2023 that part of Ukraine's L-39 fleet, including the Ukrainian-upgraded L-39M1, was held in combat aviation brigades and had already taken part in the war.
A separate account by Vsim.ua describes Major Dmytro Kolomiyets flying an L-39 on 24 February 2022, the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion, during an air-combat mission over Khmelnytskyi Oblast before being shot down near Kryntsiliv. ArmyInform's profile of Kolomiyets supports the same air-combat context and states that he had mastered the L-39 among other Ukrainian Air Force aircraft.
Sources: ArmyInform Training Combat Aircraft, Vsim Dmytro Kolomiyets L-39 Mission, ArmyInform Kolomiyets Air Combat
Timeline
The public record is strongest for the opening day of the 2022 full-scale invasion and for later Ukrainian fleet context. On 24 February 2022, Ukrainian reporting places an L-39 in a mission over Khmelnytskyi Oblast linked to Kolomiyets's final sortie. By March 2023, ArmyInform described L-39 and L-39M1 aircraft as part of Ukrainian combat-brigade inventories that had participated in the war.
On 20 April 2024, Lithuania transferred a disassembled L-39ZA Albatros light ground-attack support aircraft to Ukraine. Lithuania's Ministry of National Defence described the aircraft as part of a military-assistance shipment and said the Lithuanian Armed Forces handed it over to Ukrainian colleagues.
Sources: Vsim Dmytro Kolomiyets L-39 Mission, ArmyInform Training Combat Aircraft, Lithuanian MoD L-39ZA Transfer to Ukraine
Role in Ukrainian service
The L-39's documented Ukrainian conflict role sits between advanced training, combat aviation support, and limited light-combat employment. ArmyInform described the aircraft as Ukraine's main training aircraft after the Soviet breakup while also noting that some airframes, including L-39M1 aircraft, were in combat brigades during the war.
The sources do not establish a broad pattern of L-39 strike sorties in Ukraine. They do support fielding by Ukraine, a documented L-39 combat mission at the start of the full-scale invasion, and Lithuania's later transfer of an L-39ZA airframe to Ukraine.
Sources: ArmyInform Training Combat Aircraft, Vsim Dmytro Kolomiyets L-39 Mission, Lithuanian MoD L-39ZA Transfer to Ukraine
