According to the Ukrainian government’s official Twitter account, the Russian military damaged the largest commercial cargo plane during fighting at an airport near Kyiv.
The Antonov AN-225, called Mriya, or “Dream,” had six engines, a cargo capacity of 225 tons, and fuel consumption of around 20 tons per hour of flight.
“Russia may have sabotaged our ‘Mriya.'” They will, however, never be able to demolish our vision of a robust, free, and democratic European state. “We will triumph!” Dmytro Kulebo, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, posted on Twitter.
According to the Ukrainian government, Russia destroyed the jet during its assault on the Antonov airstrip in Gostomel, on the outskirts of Kiev. The Antonov Company, which developed the massive plane and has been operating it for 20 years, has stated that it is unable to certify its condition.
“We cannot report on the technical condition of the aircraft until the AN-225 has been inspected by experts,” it stated in a subsequent tweet.
According to a Ukrainian defense industry association, the AN-225 will be refurbished at Russia’s expense, which is estimated to be $3 billion. It was estimated that rebuilding the plane would take five years.
Antonov Airlines was unable to relocate the AN-225 Mriya because the aircraft was being repaired at Gostomel Airport, according to Ukroboronprom’s website.
Antonov Airlines employed the enormous aircraft for special operations, including as power transformers or other massive equipment that couldn’t easily fit in its giant – but smaller – AN-124 freighters, or when utilizing the AN-225 was less expensive than two AN-124s. It has also brought humanitarian aid and medical supplies such as personal protective equipment since the onset of the pandemic.
The AN-225 set aviation records for delivering the longest and heaviest goods, including a nearly 419,000-pound generator for a gas power plant.
Seven AN-124s are owned by the freight airline. Volga Dnepr, a Russian carrier, also operates a fleet of AN-124 freight jets, and there are a few others with modest operators. However, there was just one AN-225 in service.
Antonov Design Bureau in Ukraine designed it in the late 1980s to transport rocket parts for the Soviet space program, incorporating design elements from the AN-124 military transport.
Following the Cold War’s end, the AN-225 and some AN-124 planes ended up in private hands. After several years of disuse, the Mriya needed to be restored before it could fly again in 2001.
“We’re going to repair the plane.” “We will realize our ideal of a strong, free, and democratic Ukraine,” the government stated in a statement.
The AN-225 is based on the AN-124 design, but with fuselage extensions before and behind the wings. It also has identical nose gear, allowing it to “kneel” to load and unload freight more readily. The landing gear is made up of 32 wheels, which allows the plane to maneuver on a tight runway.
The AN-225, on the other hand, is exclusively loaded from the nose, unlike the AN-124-100, which has a rear cargo door and ramp. It has a swept-back horizontal stabilizer with twin tails that allows it to carry huge cargo on top of its fuselage. Its cargo container may be pressurized, allowing it to transport more cargo.
