Ukraine’s Antonov AN-225, nicknamed “Mriya” (Ukrainian for “Dream”), was a marvel of the aviation world. The world’s largest commercial aircraft has broken hundreds of world records and inspired Facebook fan groups that have followed its missions around the world. Crowds gathered near the airport runways to watch the giant plane take off, sharing photos and videos.
The AN-225 carried out its final mission in early February when it brought nearly 90 tons of Covid-19 tests from Tianjin, China, to Billund, Denmark.
On February 5, the AN-225 returned home to Hostomel Airport, just 15 miles southwest of Kyiv. Kyiv Independence reported that one of its six engines was set for use on another Antonov cargo plane. The engine was reinstalled on February 23 and the Mriya was ready to fly the following day.
But on February 24, Russian helicopters and paratroopers attacked Hostomel intending to seize the airport to be used as a beachhead to steal in troops and equipment for an assault on Kiev. Ukrainian forces counterattacked. In one of the fiercest battles in the early days of the invasion, Russian troops eventually captured the airport, but it had been rendered unusable for large aircraft.
And the Mriya became an early casualty of the war. His large shed caught fire, and all that was left of the Mriya was a pile of burnt, twisted metal crippled by bullets and shrapnel. The destruction of the MRIYA was announced on February 27 by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He tweeted: “Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they can never destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We will prevail!
This was the world’s largest aircraft, AN-225 ‘Mriya’ (‘Dream’ in Ukrainian). 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! pic.twitter.com/TdnBFlj3N8
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 27, 2022