On March 3, 2022, unconfirmed footage of Hostomel Airport (GML) near Kyiv, Ukraine, surfaced on social media. The Antonov An-225 Mriya is seen destroyed among the rubble of a damaged hangar and Russian military trucks in the video.
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, conflicting claims about the fate of the world's largest aeroplane have surfaced.
- On the first day of the invasion, Hostomel Airport, which is located near Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, was bombed.
- Russian paratroopers were allegedly ordered to the spot to construct a bridgehead for more forces to be flown in.
- The Russian military took control of the infrastructure after a day of fighting with the Ukrainian National Guard.
On February 27, 2022, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba revealed its claimed annihilation.
The Antonov Company, on the other hand, had declined to corroborate the information, claiming that it needed to wait for an official expert review.
- The An-225 was designed for the Soviet space programme to transport the Buran space shuttle as well as bulky rocket components.
- It took to the air for the first time in 1988.
- It has six engines and 42 tyres, allowing it to transport up to 640 tonnes, making it the most powerful and largest aircraft ever built.
The programme was supposed to create two planes, but only one was finished before the Soviet Union fell apart.
The second giant’s unfinished airframe is stored in another hangar at Antonov Airport.
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