The largest plane ever built was destroyed

The biggest airplane ever built was destroyed at an airport outside Kiev, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"It was the largest aircraft in the world, the AN-225 'Mriya' (meaning Dream in Ukrainian)," Kubela tweeted.

Russia may have destroyed our "Mriya". But it will never be able to 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

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was built in Ukraine in 1985 when the nation was still controlled by the Soviet Union. It has six turbofan engines and is the heaviest aircraft ever built.

It was created as a strategic air crafttransports, which carried Soviet space aircraft, but was later purchased by Antonov Airlines. Since then it has been used to airlift large loads of emergency aid during natural disasters.

On February 25, the Russian military claimed to have taken control of Antonov Airport just outside Kyiv. The capture of Hostomel Airport, which has a long runway that allows heavy transport aircraft to land, means Russia can transport troops directly to the outskirts of Kiev. Hostomel is located just 4 miles northwest of the city.

The representative of the Russian Ministry DefenseMajor General Igor Konashenkov said on Friday that the Russian Airborne Forces used 200 helicopters to land in Hostomel and killed more than 200 soldiers belonging to the Ukrainian special forces.

Konashenkov claimed that the Russian troops did not suffer any casualties, which contradicts the claims of Ukraine, that the Russian troops suffered heavy losses.

Rumors immediately circulated that Mriya had been destroyed in battle. Although Kuleba's tweet confirmed the crash, Antonov said he was still gathering information about the fate of the huge plane.