The Antonov AN-225, the world’s largest aircraft has been destroyed during Russia’s invasion of its neighbouring country, Ukraine.
CNN disclosed that the aircraft which was called “Mriya” and parked at an airfield near Kyiv was destroyed by Russian forces during an attack.
Ukrainian authorities while speaking on the development stated that it would rebuild the plane and continue to defend the country.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba in a post on Twitter wrote: “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!”
Antonov Company in a post on Twitter noted that it could not verify the “technical condition” of the aircraft until its experts inspects the plane.
Ukrainian State defence company, Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, in a statement released on Sunday, disclosed that the aircraft had been destroyed, but would be rebuilt at Russia’s expense.
The statement read, “The restoration of Mriya is estimated to take over 3 billion USD and over five years.
“Our task is to ensure that these costs are covered by the Russian Federation, which has caused intentional damage to Ukraine’s aviation and the air cargo sector.”
The director of Antonov Airlines further stated that one of the engines has been dismantled for repairs and the plane in Kyiv is not able to take off that day, although the appropriate commands were given.
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