Update: 04 March 202
Some horrific damaged photos of An-225 have been surfaced around confirming the aircraft has been destroyed.
Antonov An-225 Mriya Destroyed
Antonov An-225, the biggest plane in the world was destroyed by Russian troops in the second air attack on the Hostomel (Gostomel) airport near Kyiv. The aircraft was burnt in the Russian attack.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has confirmed on his Twitter account below:
Antonov Company mentioned on a tweet that they could not confirm the technical conditions of the aircraft.
The An-225 Mriya was originally built to transport the Soviet space shuttle, Buran.
According to Wikipedia, as an oversized aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya held multiple records which included; heaviest aircraft ever built, and largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service.
Other records held by the An-225 were cargo related in terms of weight and length as the Antonov An-225 had the capability to carry up to 640 tonnes (705 short tons). The An-225 attracted a high degree of public interest, so much that it had managed to attain a global following due to its size and its uniqueness.
We pay tribute to An-225 Mriya in the video below:
Records Held by An-225 Mriya (Source Wikipedia)
The airlifter holds the absolute world record for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kg (418,830 lb),and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb). It also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.
On 11 September 2001, carrying four main battle tanks at a record load of 253.82 tonnes (279.79 short tons) of cargo, the An-225 flew at an altitude of up to 10,750 m (35,270 ft) over a closed circuit of 1,000 km (620 mi) at a speed of 763.2 km/h (474.2 mph).
On 11 August 2009, the heaviest single cargo item ever sent by air freight was loaded onto the An-225. At 16.23 m (53 ft 3 in) long and 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) wide, its consignment, a generator for a gas power plant in Armenia along with its loading frame, weighed in at a record 189 tonnes (417,000 lb).
On 11 June 2010, the An-225 carried the world’s longest piece of air cargo, two 42.1 m (138 ft) test wind turbine blades from Tianjin, China, to Skrydstrup, Denmark.