The world’s largest aircraft, the Ukrainian Antonov An-225 “Mriya,” was destroyed by Russian forces during an airport assault last week, according to Ukrainian officials.

"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,” wrote Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter. “Mriya” is Ukrainian for “Dream.”

“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,” announced Ukraine’s official Twitter account on Sunday. Ukraine has not shared any further information concerning the incident, including details on exactly how the Mriya was destroyed. The plane’s destruction has not been independently confirmed or corroborated by a non-belligerent party.

The Mriya was at Hostomel Airport in northern Ukraine when Russian forces launched an attack on the facility on February 24. The invading Russian forces have methodically targeted airports and air bases across the country as Moscow pushes to achieve and maintain air superiority in Ukraine.

According to a separate statement issued by Ukroboronprom, a Ukrainian defense conglomerate, the An-225 was unable to take off that day because one of its engines had been dismantled for repairs. The statement added that the Ukrainian side is unable to “assess the plane’s condition and the possibility of repairing it.” Ukroboronprom said that the An-225’s “restoration is estimated to take over three billion USD and over five years,” though it is not immediately clear how they arrived at this conclusion given their earlier contention that they are unable to verify the plane’s condition. “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 statement added.

The An-225 Mriya was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft introduced by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) during the 1980s.

Boasting a wingspan of 290 feet and a weight of 285 tons, the Mriya is widely acknowledged as the heaviest aircraft ever built. The plane had garnered a substantial following among aviation enthusiasts, reportedly drawing crowds wherever it went. The An-225 was previously involved in relief efforts to deliver medical supplies from China to hotspots around the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Image: Wikipedia.