World's largest plane destroyed by Russian strikes in Ukraine
World
The largest plane in the world was destroyed by Russian strikes outside Kyiv.
KYIV (AFP) - 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 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 meters long (276 feet) it could transport up to 250 tonnes (551,000 pounds) of cargo at a speed of up to 850 kilometres per hour (528 mph).
It had been named "Mriya", which means "dream" in Ukrainian.
"This was the world s largest aircraft, AN-225 Mriya " Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted 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.
Gostomel airport has seen violent clashes since the start of Russia s invasion, launched by President Vladimir Putin Thursday.
The Russian army has said it is trying to seize strategic infrastructure.
Weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom estimated that restoring the "Mriya" would cost over $3 billion (2.7 billion euros) and could take over five years.
"Our mission is to ensure that these expenses are covered by Russia, which deliberately inflicted damage on Ukraine s aviation," the group said.
Initially built as part of the Soviet aeronautical program, the An-225 made its first flight in 1988.
After years of not flying after the fall of the Soviet Union, the only existing copy made a test flight in 2001 in Gostomel, about 20 kilometres from Kyiv.
It has been operated by Ukraine s Antonov Airlines for cargo flights and was in high demand during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
