Kyiv: Russian forces have destroyed the world’s largest plane- Mriya (Dream) in the war against Ukraine on Sunday.  

Antonov Airline has delivered 110 tonnes of Covid-19 testing kits from Tianjin, China, to Linz, Austria, on the unique AN-225 “Mriya” for use in Austrian pharmacies.

Amid global capacity constraints and Covid-19, Antonov Airlines provided an efficient and safe solution for the medical sector consignee.

Ukraine tweeted, "A symbol of hope in the darkest hours of COVID, Mriya (Dream), the world’s largest plane, carried vast quantities of life-saving vaccine and PPE around the globe. It is now destroyed by Russian invaders in its war against Ukraine and the wider world". 

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Originally, this unique aircraft was developed as an enlargement of the Antonov An-124 to transport Buran-class orbiters. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. 

It was then refurbished and reintroduced into commercial operation with Antonov Airlines, carrying oversized payloads. While a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built, construction was halted more than once due to a lack of funding and interest. This second aircraft was last brought up to 60–70 per cent completion in 2009.