Kherson International Airport
Chornobaivka, Kherson region
From the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, Kherson airport in the village of Chornobayivka became the epicenter of the battle for the South of Ukraine. On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russian troops launched a rocket-bomb attack on the airport. On February 27, the Russians seized the airfield and controlled its territory until the beginning of November 2022.
By the end of the summer of 2022, the Ukrainian military had carried out at least 30 attacks on Russian equipment and personnel stationed at the airport. In early November, due to constant pressure from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians were forced to leave the airport and the entire right bank of the Dnieper river.
During the Russian occupation of Chornobaivka, the airport terminal was practically destroyed. The Russian military turned its building and the surrounding area into a military base. Due to military operations, there are no walls, windows, or ceilings left in the airport terminal. What survived, the Russians stole when they retreated, in particular, they completely ransacked the control tower of the airport, and they took all the equipment from there. Next to the terminal, there were many destroyed vehicles, buses, and engineering equipment that ensured the operation of the airport.