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Russia Destroys World’s Largest Plane
The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russia Destroys World’s Largest Plane
According to CNN, the enormous aircraft, named “Mriya,” or “dream” in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked by Russian forces.
Ukrainian authorities said that they would rebuild the plane and will continue to defend the country.
On Twitter, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba wrote: “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!”
A tweet from the Antonov Company said it could not verify the “technical condition” of the aircraft until it had been inspected by experts.
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Ukrainian State defense company, Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, on Sunday, in a statement, confirmed that the aircraft had been destroyed, but would be rebuilt at Russia’s expense.
“The restoration of Mriya is estimated to take over 3 billion USD and over five years,” the statement read.
“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,”
It said.
The director of Antonov Airlines added that one of the engines was dismantled for repairs and the plane in Kyiv was not able to take off that day, although the appropriate commands were given.
The largest plane was in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic as a cargo plane.
The Gostomel airport has seen violent clashes since the start of Russia’s invasion, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The Russian army has said it is trying to seize strategic infrastructure.
Weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom estimated that restoring the “Mriya” would cost more than $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 program, 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 kilometers (12.4 miles) 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-19 pandemic.
Antonov Company in a post on Twitter noted that it could not verify the “technical condition” of the aircraft until its experts inspects the plane.
Ukrainian State defence company, Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, in a statement released on Sunday, disclosed that the aircraft had been destroyed, but would be rebuilt at Russia’s expense.
The statement read, “The restoration of Mriya is estimated to take over 3 billion USD and over five years.
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.”
The director of Antonov Airlines further stated that one of the engines has been dismantled for repairs and the plane in Kyiv is not able to take off that day, although the appropriate commands were given.
The standoff has its roots in Russia’s attempts to prevent the country from joining NATO on the grounds that it poses a threat to its national security
Russia and Ukraine were members of the Soviet Union until it dissolved in 1991 and Ukraine declared its independence. Ukraine occupies a strategic geographical position, sitting at the center of the fight for influence in Europe. Moscow wants to prevent Ukraine from turning towards the West: if Kyiv joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it will lose its ability to influence the country.
NATO has not yet opened the door to Ukraine. What’s more, the process of joining the organization is long and complex, and does not only depend on what Ukraine wants – the country has had its sights set on NATO since 2008. Moscow wants to veto Ukraine’s membership in the alliance, arguing it would be a threat to Russian security.
Russia Destroys World’s Largest Plane
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Source: Naijaloaded
