Russia-Ukraine war: The An-225 aircraft was destroyed at the Antonov airport.
In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the world's biggest plane - Ukraine's Antonov-225 - was destroyed in Russian strikes. Ukraine's state-owned Ukroboronprom said on Sunday that the plane was destroyed at the Antonov airport in Gostomel near Kyiv.
Here's everything you need to know about An-225:
- The aircraft was unique to the world, at 84 metres long (276 feet) it could transport up to 250 tonnes (551,000 pounds) of cargo at a speed of up to 850 kilometres per hour (528 mph).
- It had been named "Mriya", which means "dream" in Ukrainian.
- Ukroboronprom estimated that restoring the "Mriya" would cost over $3 billion (2.7 billion euros) and could take over five years.
- "Our mission is to ensure that these expenses are covered by Russia, which deliberately inflicted damage on Ukraine's aviation," the group said.
- Initially built as part of the Soviet aeronautical programme, the An-225 made its first flight in 1988.
- After years of not flying after the fall of the Soviet Union, the only existing copy made a test flight in 2001 in Gostomel, about 20 kilometres from Kyiv.
- It has been operated by Ukraine's Antonov Airlines for cargo flights and was in high demand during the start of the Covid pandemic.
- According to Antonov website, the plane can deliver extra-heavy oversize cargo to any point on the globe carrying it either inside the fuselage or on external stores.
- It further said that "Mriya" has set 124 world and 214 national speed, altitude and weight-to-altitude records.
- In 2010, An-225 carried the longest cargo item in the history of air transportation. Two wind turbine blades 42.1 metres each were delivered by air from China to Denmark for special testing.
