The group stated in a statementSunday that the “Russian invaders destroyed the Ukrainian flagship of aviation, the AN-225” at Gostomel’s Antonov airport near Kyiv. According to the group, the aircraft was in repair at the time of the invasion and could not be moved from Ukraine.
It was the first of its kind in the world. It was 276 feet in length and could carry up to 551,000 lbs of cargo at speeds of up to 528 miles.
It was named “Mriya”, which in Ukrainian means “dream”.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, tweeted Sunday: “This was the largest aircraft in the world, AN225 ‘Mriya’.”
“Russia may have destroyed our Mriya.” They will not be able destroy our dream of a strong and free European state. We will prevail!” He added.
Since Thursday’s Russian invasion of Russia, the airport at Gostomel has witnessed violent clashes.
According to the Russian army, it wants to seize strategic infrastructure.
Ukroboronprom, a weapon manufacturer, estimated that the restoration of “Mriya” could cost more than $3 billion and take up to five years.
The group stated that their mission was to make sure these expenses are paid by Russia, who deliberately caused damage to Ukraine’s aviation.
The AN-225 was initially built to be part of the Soviet aeronautical programme. It flew its first flight in 1988.
After many years of being unable to fly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the last remaining copy flew in 2001 in Gostomel (about 12 miles from Kyiv).
It was operated by Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines as cargo flights.
Yuriy Hasyev, general director of Ukroboronprom stated that “We will fight to defend our land and home until we win.” “And we will finish our new Mriya, which has been waiting in a safe spot for many years, after the victory.”