By Skies Magazine | February 28, 2022 Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 48 seconds.
The only example of world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov An-225, known as “Mriya,” has been destroyed by Russian occupiers during an attack on the Antonov airfield near Kyiv, Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian state defense company UkrOboronProm, which manages Antonov, issued a statement on Feb. 27 declaring that Russia hit Mriya “as a symbol of Ukraine’s aviation capabilities.” The attack “caused intentional damage to Ukraine’s aviation and the air cargo sector.”
The Antonov Company, however, has not yet confirmed the technical condition of the aircraft. In a tweet on Feb. 27, Antonov told followers to “stay tuned for further official announcement.”
Mriya was just recently undergoing routine maintenance on Feb. 24 at the Antonov airfield. The director of Antonov Airlines said one of the engines was dismantled for repairs, and “the plane wasn’t able to take off that day.”
The next day, on Feb. 25, Russian forces claimed to have captured Antonov Airport. Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show major damage to the hangar at the airfield, where Mriya is stored.
Soon after, NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System detected multiple fires at the airport, using a number of NOAA and NASA satellites. On the morning of Feb. 27, a fire at the hangar where Mriya is stored was detected. It has not been confirmed whether the fires were a result of military strikes or otherwise.
In the meantime, the Antonov Company will not be able to report on the condition of the aircraft until it can be assessed by experts. But the aircraft is unable to be accessed as the airport has been taken over by Russian occupiers.
The An-225 — designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union — first flew on Dec. 21, 1988. Powered by six Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofan engines, the aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 1.4 million pounds (640,000 kilograms), and holds records for transportation of biggest commercial cargo, as well as the longest and heaviest cargo pieces in the history of aviation monoloading, lifting capacity.
“Unfortunately, these options are lost today, however, they will be definitely restored,” UkrOboronProm said in a statement. “The occupiers destroyed the airplane, but they won’t be able to destroy our common dream. Mriya will definitely be reborn.”
Ukraine intends to restore Mriya at the expense of the Russian Federation. The cost is estimated to be over US$3 billion, and is expected to take around five years.
The An-225 played a critical role in transporting personal protective equipment from China to different locations around the world in 2020. Completing over 30 flights in the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mriya visited Toronto, Montreal, Paris, Anchorage, Leipzig, Warsaw, and Athens, to name a few locations.
The cockpit of the An-225. Celian Genier Photo 
The An-225 played a critical role in transporting personal protective equipment to different locations around the world during the pandemic.
Each arrival drew crowds of aviation enthusiasts and news outlets who wanted to get a closer look at the plane. It’s an aviation icon.
The An-225 is based on the smaller Antonov An-124 — a four-engined strategic lift aircraft, also designed by the Antonov Design Bureau. The An-124 has visited Toronto Pearson airport numerous times, and was most recently spotted there on Feb. 26, 2022. Sources say the aircraft will not be departing any time soon due to Canada closing its airspace to all Russian aircraft operators.
