Since 1947, the 268th Fighter Aviation Red Banner Air Defense Regiment was based at the airfield on Bell P-39 Airacobra (until 1950), Yak-15 and Yak-17 (1950-1951), MiG-15 (1951-1955), MiG aircraft -17 (1955-1962).

In 1974, the Donetsk airport reconstructed the runway, as well as radio technical means of takeoff and landing, and in 1975 a new building air terminal with a capacity of 700 passengers per hour was commissioned (design by the architect Volodymyr Spuskaniuk [uk]).

[9] During Euro 2012, the new terminal received international flights, with soccer fans flown in from many European capitals, including London, and was regarded as a symbol of Ukraine's progress.

[13] On May 26, 2014, fighters from the Donetsk People's Republic, with technical assistance from Russian mercenaries, seized the airport soon after Petro Poroshenko won the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election.

[17] Zakharchenko claimed that the rebels had taken complete control of the airport on January 17, 2015, after a series of battles with pro-government forces over the complex.

[citation needed] One day later, it was reported that government forces claimed to have retaken almost all parts of the airport lost to the belligerents in recent weeks, after a mass operation during the night.

[18] On January 21, Ukrainian forces admitted losing control of the airport to the Donetsk People's Republic rebels.

Similarly, the control tower was contested by opposing forces as a strategic lookout point, but eventually collapsed in January 2015 during the final leg of the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport.

[20][21] Since the fighting, the ruins of the airport have been cleared of rubble, leaving behind the concrete shells of the new terminal building and adjoining parking garage.