New Delhi: Amid the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the world’s largest cargo plane, the Ukrainian-made Antonov-225 Mriya, was burnt in a Russian shelling on Hostomel airport near Kyiv, Ukrainian state arms manufacture Ukroboronprom said on Sunday.
Taking to its Facebook page, Ukroboronprom wrote, “The Russian occupiers destroyed the flagship of Ukrainian aviation - the legendary An-225 Mriya. It happened at the Antonov airfield in Hostomel near Kyiv.”
The arms manufacturer further said that the plane restoration would cost more than $3 billion and take over five years. However, Russia would be responsible for paying for the repair, Ukroboronprom added.
The aircraft Mriya, that means ‘dream’ in Ukrainian, was built in the year 1985 with its first flight in 1988. Antonov-225 is the largest aircraft ever manufactured with over 30 wheels, six engines, a wingspan of 290 feet, and has a range of 15,400 km when unloaded and 4,500 km when fully loaded.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted saying, “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!”
The official Ukraine Twitter account also vowed to rebuild the plane. “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.”
The cargo plane was still being used by Ukraine and had even been used in 2020 when it was flown to Israel to bring the US military Oshkosh trucks to be fitted with the iron dome.
READ | Russia Attacks Ukraine LIVE: Russia Admits 'Killed And Injured' Troops In Ukraine
Notably, the Russian invasion of Ukraine began earlier this week on Thursday when several attacks were launched on the border of the nation as well as the capital city Kyiv.