However, after his maiden flight in 1988 and a series of appearances at international air fairs, including Farnborough, Mriya was left at a dead end when the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became independent.
With such a huge plane that it so seldom needed, it remained dormant for years. But in the late 1990s it was converted into a special cargo ship and has since made a huge number of record-breaking flights, carrying many items previously considered impossible to fly.
These items include a 130 ton generator, original wind turbine blades, a tank and even diesel locomotives.
The blades of the wind turbines, transported from China’s Tianjin to Lunderskov in Denmark in 2010, were the largest air cargo ever 42 meters long each.
There is still hope, however, that Antonov Airlines may be able to reuse some of the wrecked remains of Mriya withering at Hostomel and build a new aircraft.
The left wing of the plane survived mostly intact, along with its three propellers, if only because when it broke, it landed on top of a smaller aircraft parked below.
Part of its tail also looks mostly intact, although – like most of what is left – it is peppered with bullet holes and shows signs of broken shards.
The other wing, with more damage, was completely cut off, while the front of the fuselage and the cockpit were almost completely destroyed.
Apart from that, a second half-built – but never completed – An-225 is considered to be stored in a shed elsewhere in Kyiv, although its condition is not currently known. Some speculate that this could be the basis of the replacement aircraft.
After the war with Russia, Antonov hopes that there will be a global effort to help rebuild the Mriya, possibly with the support of major international companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier.
“I believe the plane will be given new life,” he added. “Right now we are trying to end the war with Russia, but after that we will see what we can do.
“We have everything to build new aircraft and we expect a lot of help from the people. But not from Russia.”
The thought of a resurrected Mriya going up to the skies again will be tempting for aviation enthusiasts, both in Ukraine and elsewhere. It would also be a powerful symbol of the resilience of the Ukrainians and their courageous struggle to remain free from Russian tyranny.
But of course, this idea was never really associated with a single aircraft anyway – as the Kiev troops proved when they recaptured Antonov Airport earlier this month.
“The Russian invaders destroyed Mriya,” they wrote. “But [the Ukraine] the dream is indestructible! “
