Postage Issue: 80 Years Of Antonov Jsc

One hundred and twenty years ago, Kyiv was one of the world’s centers of aviation. We dreamed about the sky — and learned how to conquer it.

The first aircraft were built in the workshops of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, while new designs were tested at the Syrets airfield. Kyiv was home to Professor Oleksandr Kudashev, Igor Sikorsky, Fedir Tereshchenko, and Dmytro Hryhorovych. In 1913, it was here that Petro Nesterov performed the world’s first loop-the-loop, proving that aircraft were capable of far more than people had imagined at the time.

An entire generation of future aircraft designers grew up in this atmosphere of fascination with aviation. One of them was Oleh Antonov. While still a schoolboy, he built gliders, sketched aircraft designs, and published a handwritten aviation magazine with his friends. During World War II, Antonov worked on transport and military gliders for the army, and after the war he headed a newly established design bureau that would later become world-famous under the name Antonov.

Over the course of 80 years, the bureau created more than 100 aircraft types and modifications. It was at the Antonov Design Bureau that the An-2, Antei, Ruslan, and the legendary An-225 Mriya were born — the largest cargo aircraft in the world and one of the best-known symbols of Ukrainian engineering. Antonov aircraft have set hundreds of world records and for decades transported oversized cargo, humanitarian aid, machinery, and equipment across the globe.

But Antonov is more than aircraft. It is a large community of designers, engineers, test pilots, technicians, and workers for whom aviation became a lifelong calling. Entire family dynasties were formed here, while cultural and sporting life flourished alongside production. Oleh Antonov himself loved tennis, painted, and believed that a good aircraft should be not only reliable, but beautiful as well.

Today, the Antonov engineering school continues to work and evolve, preserving the experience of many generations of Ukrainian aviation specialists. And for 80 years now, it has proven that Ukrainian engineering is capable of creating things of global significance.

On June 02, 2026, a new Ukrainian postage stamp titled "80 Years of Antonov JSC. The Engineering Power of Ukraine" will be officially issued and valid for postal use nationwide.

The special First Day cancellation ceremony will take place in Kyiv, Ukraine, 01001.

• Stamp No. 2236 — 80 Years of Antonov JSC. The Engineering Power of Ukraine;
• Stamp size: 52 × 37,5 mm;
• Sheet size: 166 × 102 mm;
• Denomination: F;
• Block No. 226 "80 Years of Antonov JSC. The Engineering Power of Ukraine" with a stamp No. 2237;
• Block size: 86 × 68 mm;
• Block denomination: P;
• Print run: 140,000 stamps; 4200 blocks; 15,000 FDCs; 15,000 cards; 350 presentation folders;
• Printing method: offset;
• Printed by: Ukraina Printing Plant;
• Artist: Yermolenko A.