World’s largest cargo plane ‘destroyed’ during Russian invasion

February 28, 2022

World’s biggest cargo plane, Antonov-225 Mriya. [Image: Courtesy]

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, Ukrainian state arms manufacture Ukroboronprom 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.

“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!” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

The An-225 Mriya, created in the 1980s, is the world’s longest and heaviest airplane. It could transport up to 640 tons of freight.

The aircraft was one-of-a-kind in the world, measuring 84 meters (276 feet) in length and capable of transporting up to 250 tonnes (551,000 pounds) of cargo at speeds of up to 850 kilometers per hour (528 mph).

According to reports, restoring the “Mriya” would cost over $3 billion (2.7 billion euros) and could take over five years.