World’s largest cargo aircraft destroyed during a Russian attack, says Ukrainian minister

The world’s largest cargo aircraft, the An-225 Mriya, has been destroyed during a Russian attack, according to Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba.

Kuleba tweeted on Sunday: “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!” he added.

The plane was based at the Antonov Airport – also known as Hostomel Airport – according to Scottish publication The Herald. The paper reported Thursday that the airfield was struck by missiles prior to the attack.

On the same day, Aviation24.be published a report saying a source had confirmed the aircraft was in Georgia.

Insider was not able to independently verify the publication’s claims.

Illia Ponomarenko, a defense reporter for the Kyiv Independent, said on Sunday that the aircraft was ruined “amid a Russian attack.”

And the US-funded media Radio Liberty shared a satellite picture purporting to show the aircraft in flames.

The aircraft, which first took off in 1988, was used to transport large amounts of humanitarian aid around the world, especially at short notice. It was also used to transfer Soviet spacecraft.

Russian flights have been banned from many European countries as part of the sanctions imposed by the EU and the US, as Insider reported.

Credits: Huileng Tan. Business Insider