An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest aircraft, has been destroyed during a Russian attack on the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Ukraine.
The destruction was confirmed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“This was the world’s largest aircraft, AN-225 ‘Mriya’, the word meaning ‘Dream’ in Ukrainian. Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’,” Kuleba said on Twitter. “But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!”
Antonov Airlines made this statement on Monday, “Today the fact was confirmed that as a result of attack and capture of Ukrainian civil Kyiv-Antonov airport (Gostomel, GML) by Russian troops, the largest aircraft in the world AN-225 MRIYA was damaged and burned down. The aircraft was at the home base in Ukraine for maintenance. The loss of this unique aircraft, which was the real piece of technical art, is a great loss not only for Antonov Company and Ukraine, but for the entire aviation world.”
Antonov Airport is owned by Antonov and its subsidiary Antonov Airlines which used to operate Mriya as well as other air cargo planes. The airport, located in the vicinity of Kyiv, was attacked very early in the invasion of the country by Russia which started on February 24, 2022. The alleged goal of Russian paratroopers sent on the site was to establish a bridgehead for more Russian troops to be flown.
“Russian forces attacked and seized the Hostomel (Gostomel) airfield, a cargo airport near Kyiv that is also known as Antonov Airport, early Thursday” according to Agence France-Presse.