In the sky over Ukraine, an unidentified aircraft has been circling for the second day, raising numerous questions and speculations among aviation experts and the public

More details about this mysterious presence in our country's airspace were shared by the Ukrainian Air Force. According to official sources, a military transport aircraft An-26 is flying over Ukraine, belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' military transport aviation. This was confirmed by Colonel Yuriy Ignat, head of the Air Force’s communication department, in a comment to the publication "Ukrainian Pravda." The military official explained that this aircraft is executing a specific mission; however, due to confidentiality reasons, the details of the operation are not disclosed. This situation has attracted public interest, especially since on April 21, reports appeared online indicating that tracking service Flightradar24 detected movement of an aircraft in the sky over Western and Central Ukraine — specifically around Lviv and Vinnytsia. A flight with the callsign WELCOM appeared on the yellow background, which has characteristics of being openly visible to this tracking service. It turned out that the reason for this was the aircraft’s transponder being turned on — a device that transmits signals, allowing real-time identification of the aircraft. According to official sources, this is indeed the An-26 — a Ukrainian Air Force military transport plane. The Air Force added that the aircraft is performing a clearly defined task and has been in the air for several days. Officers also emphasized that dozens of aircraft and helicopters of various types fly in Ukraine’s airspace daily, performing a wide range of missions. These include combat operations, special missions, as well as training flights, which are an integral part of military pilot preparation and maintaining combat readiness of the aviation group. Overall, this situation adds more tension and mystery to our country’s airspace, especially since it is known that Russian aggression continues to generate increased activity. The official position of the Ukrainian military is that all flights are conducted within the scope of assigned missions, justified by defense needs. It is also worth noting that the use of transponders and their proper functioning are crucial for monitoring aviation movements and flight safety. At the same time, in cases where it is necessary to conceal certain operational details, these systems can be turned off or configured to avoid revealing all information to external tracking services. Therefore, although most details remain classified behind military doors, it can be confidently stated that the Ukrainian Air Force conducts fully transparent and authorized flights, which are part of their routine operations. And as long as this "mysterious" aircraft circles above Ukraine, heightened vigilance is observed in Kyiv and other regions regarding any unusual movements in the sky— quite a logical approach given the current security situation.