The world’s largest airplane “Mriya” – which means dream in Ukrainian – has been destroyed in a Russian attack while it was parked at an airfield near Kyiv.
“Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote in a tweet on Sunday.
With a wingspan of 88 metres, the cargo plane could carry a maximum payload weight of 250 tonnes.
Antonov Company, the manufacturer of the plane said it would not be able to provide a report on the “technical condition” of the plane unless it is inspected by experts.
Meanwhile, Ukroboronprom, a state-owned defence company which manages Antonov, said in a statement on Sunday that the cost of rebuilding the plane would be $3 billion (over Rs 22,650 crore).
“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,” Ukroboronprom said.
Ukroboronprom added that Mriya had been on ground at the Gostomel airfield near Kyiv on February 24 for regular maintenance work. Several social media users have posted satellite images of the hangar of the airfield located on outskirts of Kyiv, being destroyed in the Russian attack.
Russian forces had on Friday claimed to have captured the airfield, according to CNN.
Many social media users posted videos and photos to pay tributes to Mriya.
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