Russian forces destroy world's biggest cargo plane Mriya in Ukraine

Kyiv: Russian forces have destroyed Ukraine`s flagman aircraft An-225 Mriya, the world`s biggest cargo plane, Ukraine`s state defence conglomerate Ukroboronprom said on Telegram. The aircraft was destroyed in an attack by Russian troops on the Hostomel airport outside Kyiv, Ukroboronprom added on Sunday. The restoration of the plane will cost more than USD 3 billion and will take a long time, it said.

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. pic.twitter.com/Gy6DN8E1VR

— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 27, 2022

The An-225 Mriya, designed in the 1980s, is the longest and the heaviest aeroplane ever built. It was capable of carrying up to 640 tons of cargo, Xinhua news agency reported. AN-225 'Mriya' - meaning 'Dream' in Ukrainian - was manufactured by Ukrainian aeronautics company Antonov, and qualified as the world's largest cargo aircraft, before it was reportedly burned at Hostomel Airport outside Kyiv due to Russian shelling.

Russia has been raining cruise missiles down on multiple Ukrainian cities ever since it launched a full-scale invasion of the country on Thursday. Street fighting raged in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv on Sunday, during which Ukrainian forces managed to take back control of the city from Russian troops who initially pierced through their defences.