Sievierodonetsk Airport

The initial closure in the 1990s was due to economic reasons following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which made many regional airports financially unviable. The final destruction in 2022 was a direct result of military conflict. The airport was a strategic objective during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and was the site of intense fighting during the Battle of Sievierodonetsk, leading to its capture by Russian forces and the destruction of its remaining infrastructure.

The airport is completely destroyed and non-operational. It is located in territory currently under Russian military occupation. Satellite imagery and reports from June 2022 confirm that the runway, terminal building, hangars, and other facilities sustained catastrophic damage from shelling and combat, rendering the site unusable for any aviation purposes. The area is likely heavily mined and contains unexploded ordnance.

Opened during the Soviet era, Sievierodonetsk Airport was a regional hub serving the major industrial agglomeration of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Rubizhne, which was a center for chemical production. It primarily handled domestic flights with small-to-medium-sized aircraft like the Antonov An-24 and Yakovlev Yak-40, connecting the region to cities such as Kyiv and Moscow. After the start of the war in Donbas in 2014 and the destruction of Luhansk International Airport, Sievierodonetsk Airport gained new strategic importance. It was used as a base by the Ukrainian military and was the subject of major reconstruction plans by the Ukrainian government to restore civilian air travel to the government-controlled part of Luhansk Oblast.

There are no prospects for reopening in the foreseeable future. Prior to the 2022 invasion, there were concrete plans under Ukraine's 'Great Construction' program to fully reconstruct the airport for civilian use, with a projected completion in 2023. These plans are now void. Any future for the airport is entirely contingent on the end of the war, the de-occupation of the territory, and a massive, long-term reconstruction effort. Given the scale of destruction in the city of Sievierodonetsk itself, rebuilding the airport would likely be a lower priority compared to restoring essential housing and infrastructure.