Mriya aircraft was supposed to fly to Germany, it was expected there month before war – Bild
The An-255 Mriya (Dream) cargo plane, the world’s largest Ukrainian aircraft, destroyed at the Hostomel Airport, was supposed to fly to German Leipzig/Halle Airport on the eve of Russia's invasion.
Source: Bild, the German media outlet
Quote: "The An-225 aircraft was supposed to be brought to a safe place at the Leipzig/Halle airport in February 2022 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine…
On the evening before the outbreak of the war, pilots and the crew boarded the fully fueled cargo aeroplane, but, as captain Dmytro Antonov stated, the plane was not allowed to take off by top management."
Details: The investigation report published a year later shows that the Leipzig/Halle Airport prepared everything to keep Mriya aircraft safe a month before the Russian invasion.
Correspondingly, from 26 February 2022, a parking space was reserved for the An-255 in Germany.
Uwe Schuhart, spokesperson for the airport, told Bild that "transportation of An-225 and An-124 was planned for 25 February. It was confirmed on 21 February. There were discussions about this matter weeks prior to this."
Satellite imagery of the Hostomel airfield shows that the most important Ukrainian aircraft were deliberately left under attack, while the rest of the aircraft were left untouched.
Antonov, captain of the crew, confirmed this: "Those who came to the airfield knew for sure which aircraft were in service and which had to be shot down first."
Since 2008, Mriya has landed at the Leipzig/Halle Airport 32 times. In November 2021, the aircraft delivered 3.5 million COVID-19 express tests.
Background:
- On the first day of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Russian invaders destroyed the flagship of Ukrainian aviation, the An-225 Mriya aircraft, in Hostomel. Five more aircraft were based at the airfield along with the Mriya: AN-74, AN-26, АN-124, АN-132 and АN-22. The first two aircraft were completely destroyed, the others were badly damaged.
- The Antonov state enterprise immediately announced that the Mriya aircraft will be rebuilt. The cost of such an idea was unclear, however, because Ukroboronprom State Concern [a Ukrainian manufacturer of weapons and military hardware - ed.] and its representatives estimated it ranged from US$120 million to US$3 billion. Yet, as Anatolii Vovnianko, a designer at Antonov State Enterprise, wrote at the time, in reality, completion would cost about US$250 million to US$300 million.
- The Security Service of Ukraine served the former CEO of Antonov State Enterprise, the acting Deputy CEO, and the Deputy Director for Aviation Security with notices of suspicion for their actions obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which led to the Russian seizure of Hostomel airfield and the destruction of the AN-225 Mriya aircraft.
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