Direct proof of use
Airbus delivered the first two H225 helicopters to Ukraine's Ministry of Interior on 21 December 2018, after the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, as part of a 55-helicopter intergovernmental program. Airbus described one aircraft as intended for search and rescue and the other as assigned to the National Guard for law-enforcement missions.
Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs later listed H225 helicopters operating inside its aviation security and civil-protection system: six H225s with the State Emergency Service and four H225s with the National Guard as of 28 August 2021. The same ministry description tied the wider Interior Ministry fleet to aeromedical evacuation, rescue, emergency-zone reconnaissance, humanitarian cargo delivery, sanitary aviation, public order, anti-terrorist and special operations, and border-security tasks.
Sources: Airbus first H225 deliveries to Ukraine, Ukraine MIA aviation security and civil protection system
Timeline
The H225 entered Ukrainian Interior Ministry service through deliveries that began in December 2018, while the conflict was already ongoing. By May 2021, the National Guard had received its third H-225 and described the type's planned use as rapid personnel movement over long distances, evacuation of sick and wounded personnel, and search-and-rescue measures.
By August 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported ten H225 helicopters in service across the State Emergency Service and National Guard. In January 2023, during the full-scale invasion phase of the war, an Airbus H225 Super Puma assigned to the State Emergency Service crashed at Brovary while carrying Interior Ministry officials; the Kyiv Independent, citing Ukrainian officials and the State Emergency Service, reported that the officials were en route to a war hot spot and that the aircraft had repeatedly transported personnel to emergency locations.
Sources: Ukraine National Guard receives third H-225, Ukraine MIA aviation security and civil protection system, Kyiv Independent Brovary H225 crash explainer
Narrative
The sourced Ukrainian H225 record is best understood as Interior Ministry and National Guard mobility aviation rather than frontline attack-helicopter employment. Official Ukrainian and Airbus material documents transfer, operator assignment, and mission categories including search and rescue, aeromedical evacuation, public order, personnel movement, and emergency-response support.
The evidence does not confirm that Ukraine used the H225/Super Puma family for offensive strikes or armed battlefield sorties in this conflict. The strongest conflict-specific record is that Ukrainian Interior Ministry agencies operated H225 aircraft during the war period, including National Guard transport and evacuation roles before the full-scale invasion and wartime transport of officials and emergency-service tasks after February 2022.
Sources: Airbus first H225 deliveries to Ukraine, Ukraine MIA aviation security and civil protection system, Ukraine National Guard receives third H-225, Kyiv Independent Brovary H225 crash explainer
