After a morning in which many crossed versions circulated regarding the final fate of the Antonov AN-225, the Ukrainian government, through a publication made at 15:47 UTC on its official Twitter account, confirmed the destruction of the aircraft.
«The world’s largest aircraft «Mriya» (The Dream) was destroyed by Russian occupants at an airfield near Kiev. We will rebuild the aircraft. We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free and democratic Ukraine,» they said.
The aircraft was at Gostomel airport at the time it came under attack by invading Russian troops last Thursday. It has also been the scene of further fighting since then.
Alarms among the aviation community were raised this morning when the OSINT_Canada account posted an analysis of satellite imagery and ground photos of the airfield, showing the AN-225 hangar in flames and a silhouette underneath it that resembles that of the aircraft.
Satellite imagery matches the paneling type of the hanger, and ground level photo's match the open back and from the of hanger. I believe we can confirm the #An225 has been destroyed pic.twitter.com/uStFnD5IWb
— OSINT_Canada (@canada_osint) February 27, 2022
Radio Svoboda quoted two anonymous Antonov sources and the mayor of Bucha, a town near Gostomel airport, who assured that the aircraft was destroyed during the attacks.
In response, Antonov Company, the parent holding company of Antonov Airlines, operator of the AN-225, said on its Facebook page that «there is a delay in the confirmed information on the status of the aircraft at Gostomel airport as there is still fighting there. Please await the official announcement on the status of the aircraft.»
Antonov Airlines chief pilot Dmitry Antonov also posted on his Facebook account that «there are many rumors about the condition of the Mriya. Until there is no reliable information we do not believe in anything.»
In any case, the outlook for the aircraft’s future became gloomier when less than an hour ago (14:50 GMT), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on his Twitter account a message hinting at the destruction of the AN-225.
«This was the largest aircraft in the world, AN-225 Mriya (‘dream’ in Ukrainian). Russia could have destroyed our Mriya. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free, and democratic European state. We will prevail!», Kuleba said.
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
But finally, the government publication seems to put an end to the versions. Now it only remains to wait for the first images of the site to emerge.
UPDATE 16:14 GMT
Antonov Company has just made a release in which they say that «currently until the AN-225 is inspected by experts, we are unable to report on the technical condition of the aircraft. Stay tuned for further official announcements.»
