The world’s largest aircraft was destroyed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The An-225 ‘Mriya’ was confirmed to have been destroyed by Ukrainian officials on Sunday after Russian forces assaulted the airport where it was stored.
“Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya,'” wrote Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. “But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free, and democratic European state. We shall prevail!”
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This was the world’s largest aircraft, AN-225 ‘Mriya’ (‘Dream’ in Ukrainian). 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! pic.twitter.com/TdnBFlj3N8
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 27, 2022
The Mriya was stored at Hostomel Airport in Ukraine, where it resided between operations. When Russians attacked Hostomel Airport on Feb. 24, some people reported that the plane had been damaged. However, the plane’s owner, Antonov Airlines, offered no information on the aircraft’s status. Unconfirmed photos of the craft’s hangar on fire were posted to social media, leading some to believe it was damaged.
Kuleba and Ukraine’s social media account confirmed the craft’s destruction on Sunday.
The biggest plane in the world “Mriya” (The Dream) was destroyed by Russian occupants on an airfield near Kyiv. We will rebuild the plane. We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free, and democratic Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/Gy6DN8E1VR
— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 27, 2022
Antonov Airlines has not released a confirmation, stating that it cannot report on the technical condition of the craft until experts have confirmed it.
Update on the information of #AN225 “Mriya” aircraft: Currently, until the AN-225 has been inspected by experts, we cannot report on the technical condition of the aircraft.
Stay tuned for further official announcement.#StopRussia #StopRussiaAggression #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/EHyHVFJJXc
— ANTONOV Company ?? (@AntonovCompany) February 27, 2022
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The Mriya was designed at the end of the Cold War and was used to carry the Soviet space shuttle and parts of Russian rockets on its back between 1988 and 1991. While the government eventually decommissioned the aircraft, Antonov Airlines began using it to move large amounts of cargo, including disaster relief supplies in several instances.
The Mriya has set an estimated 124 world records, including the world’s largest aircraft.
