Ukraine conflict: World's largest cargo plane AN-225 Mriya destroyed

Created: 03/07/2022, 11:49 am

By: Sonja Thomaser

The world's largest cargo plane AN-225 Mriya.

© Tony Mcdonough/Perth Airport /H/dpa

The huge plane was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was said to have been attacked by Russian occupiers.

According to Ukrainian sources, the world's heaviest cargo plane, the Antonov AN-225 Mriya, was destroyed in the fighting near Kyiv.

"Russian invaders" have killed the "flagship" of Ukrainian aviation, the armaments company Ukroboronprom reported on Sunday (February 27, 2022).

The machine was parked at Hostomel airfield northwest of Kyiv.

Ukraine* will make every effort to ensure that "the aggressor", meaning Russia*, reimburses the costs of more than 3 billion US dollars.

"The restoration is estimated to cost over $3 billion and will take over five years," the statement said.

"Our task is to ensure that these costs are borne by the Russian Federation, which has deliberately harmed Ukraine's aviation and air cargo sector."

Plane was grounded for repairs

In a later statement, Ukroboronprom said the plane was grounded near Kyiv on February 24 for maintenance.

"According to the director of Antonov Airlines, one of the engines was removed for repairs and the plane could not take off that day, despite the appropriate orders being given," CNN said.

"Russia may have destroyed our Mriya," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted, noting that the Ukrainian word means "dream" in German.

"But they will never destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European country," he said in reference to the Ukraine conflict*.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyj made a similar statement.

Ukraine conflict: Several fires in the hangar at Hostomel airport

Russian forces claimed on Friday (02/25/2022) to have captured the Hostomel airfield where the AN-225 was based.

A CNN team on the ground witnessed Russian airborne troops take position.

Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies shows extensive damage to part of the hangar where the AN-225 is stored.

Also, NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System detected several fires at the airport, including in the hangar where the plane is kept.

The hangar fire was spotted around 11:13 a.m. Sunday, according to Nasa data sourced from a number of Noaa and Nasa satellites, according to CNN.

It is not clear if these airport fires are the result of actual fires or explosions from military strikes.

Ukraine: World's largest cargo plane delivered relief supplies

The destruction of the AN-255 spells the end for an aircraft that has been in service for more than 30 years and stretches back to Soviet times.

The AN-225 was sometimes drafted to help with airlift during crises in other countries.

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, it delivered relief supplies to the neighboring Dominican Republic.

In the early days of the Corona pandemic*, it was used to transport medical supplies to affected areas.

To date, Mriya is the heaviest aircraft ever built.

Powered by six turbofan engines, it has a maximum payload weight of 250 tons.

It boasts the largest wingspan of any aircraft in service.

Only one AN-225 was ever built by the Kyiv-based Antonov company, which developed the design.

It first flew in 1988 and has been in service ever since.

(sot with dpa)