Melitopol Air Base

Melitopol
Melitopol
Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Ukraine
	Melitopol Shown within Zaporizhzhia Oblast Melitopol Melitopol (Ukraine)
Coordinates	46°52′36″N 035°18′27″E / 46.87667°N 35.30750°E
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Ukrainian Air Force
Controlled by	Air Force Command
Condition	Damaged
Site history
In use	Unknown - present
Fate	Captured by Russian forces
Battles/wars	2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: UKDM
Elevation	266 metres (873 ft) AMSL
Runways
04/22	2,470 metres (8,104 ft) Concrete

Melitopol (ICAO: UKDM) is an air base belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force located near Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. It has been occupied by Russia since March 2022.

The base was home to the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade flying Ilyushin Il-76M/MD, Ilyushin Il-78 and Antonov An-26 aircraft.^[1]

Melitopol Air Base was bombarded early in the morning on 24 February 2022, as part of the initial Russian strikes on Ukrainian military bases in the early hours of the invasion. Cruise missiles hit the control tower, a fueling station, and an Il-76 preparing for takeoff, killing an aviation technician.^[2]

The base was captured by Russian forces on 1 March 2022 during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^{[citation needed]} On 3 July it was hit by Ukrainian rocket strikes.^[3]

^ "Ukraine Air Force". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^ Joshua Yaffa (2022-05-16). "A Ukrainian City Under a Violent New Regime". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
^ "Ukraine hits Russian military base in occupied Melitopol, exiled mayor says". Reuters. Retrieved 3 July 2022.

[1] "Ukraine Air Force". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[2] Joshua Yaffa (2022-05-16). "A Ukrainian City Under a Violent New Regime". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2024-03-12.

[3] "Ukraine hits Russian military base in occupied Melitopol, exiled mayor says". Reuters. Retrieved 3 July 2022.

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