Direct proof of use
The An-74 is documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through Antonov Airlines An-74T UR-74010 at Kyiv-Gostomel Airport on February 24, 2022. Aviation Safety Network identifies the aircraft as an Antonov Airlines An-74T, registration UR-74010, and records it as destroyed while standing at Kyiv-Gostomel after Russian forces began their attempt to seize the airport.
Interfax-Ukraine reported Antonov's statement that the An-26, An-74, and An-225 had been prepared for redeployment to Leipzig before the invasion. According to that report, the An-74 was loaded, refueled, and ready, but the morning of February 24 interrupted the departure plan. Aviation.Direct separately identified the destroyed aircraft as Antonov An-74T UR-74010 and described it as a civilian aircraft casualty near Kyiv.
Sources: ASN An-74T UR-74010 Hostomel Loss, Interfax-Ukraine Antonov Hostomel losses, Aviation.Direct An-74T loss
Timeline
The available dated record is narrow and centers on the first day of the full-scale invasion. Antonov had prepared aircraft for possible redeployment in February 2022 as the security situation worsened, and Interfax-Ukraine reported that the An-74 was among aircraft ready to leave before the invasion began.
On February 24, 2022, Russian forces attacked Kyiv-Gostomel Airport in the opening phase of the invasion. ASN's aircraft-specific entry says UR-74010 was hit and burned out completely on the first day of the attack, while ASN's broader Hostomel multiple-aircraft record lists the same An-74T among Antonov Airlines aircraft destroyed at the airport.
Sources: Interfax-Ukraine Antonov Hostomel losses, ASN An-74T UR-74010 Hostomel Loss, ASN Hostomel Multiple Aircraft Damage
Conflict role
In this conflict record, the An-74's supported role is a Ukrainian mobility and logistics asset caught in the battle for Antonov's Hostomel base, not an aircraft documented flying combat airlift after the invasion began. The direct sources support presence, preparation for departure, and destruction on the ground; they do not establish a wartime sortie, cargo delivery, or armed mission.
That distinction matters because the An-74 is a transport aircraft with a broader cold-weather and austere-field mission. Antonov describes the An-74 as an An-72 modification for ice patrol and transport support in Arctic and Antarctic conditions, while its archived An-74T profile describes a freighter with rough-field operation, rear cargo loading, and onboard cargo-handling equipment. Those background sources explain why the type fits the mobility-and-logistics role, but the conflict-specific claim remains the Hostomel ground-loss record.
Sources: ASN An-74T UR-74010 Hostomel Loss, Interfax-Ukraine Antonov Hostomel losses, Antonov AN-74 history, Antonov AN-74T archived profile
