Kiev, Feb 28 (IANS): Russian forces have destroyed Ukraine's flagman aircraft An-225 Mriya, the world's biggest cargo plane, Ukraine's state defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom said on Telegram.
The aircraft was destroyed in an attack by Russian troops on the Hostomel airport outside Kiev, Ukroboronprom added on Sunday.
The restoration of the plane will cost more than $3 billion and will take a long time, it said.
The An-225 Mriya, designed in the 1980s, is the longest and the heaviest airplane ever built. It was capable of carrying up to 640 tons of cargo, Xinhua news agency reported.