Ukraine invasion: World’s largest plane destroyed by Russian strikes outside Kyiv
- The Antonov-225 cargo plane was unique to the world, at 84 metres long it could transport up to 250 tonnes of cargo at a speed of up to 850km per hour
- Weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom estimated that restoring the ‘Mriya’ – which made its first flight in 1988 – would cost more than US$3 billion and could take years
The largest plane in the world – Ukraine’s Antonov-225 cargo plane – was destroyed by Russian strikes outside Kyiv on the fourth day of Moscow’s invasion, Ukraine’s state-owned Ukroboronprom group said on Sunday.
“Russian invaders destroyed the flagship of the Ukrainian aviation, the AN-225” at the Antonov airport in Gostomel near Kyiv, the group said in a statement.
The aircraft was unique to the world, at 84 metres long (276 feet) it could transport up to 250 tonnes (551,000 pounds) of cargo at a speed of up to 850km per hour (528mph).
It had been named “Mriya”, which means “dream” in Ukrainian.
“This was the world’s largest aircraft, AN-225 ‘Mriya’” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Sunday.
“Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!”, he added.
