World’s largest plane ‘destroyed by Russian troops during Ukraine invasion’ – as rebuild is set to cost £2.2BILLION

THE world’s largest aircraft has reportedly been destroyed by Russian troops amid Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – with the restoration set to cost £2.2billion.

Ukrainian officials say the huge plane – the only one of its kind – was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was struck by “Russian occupants”.

The Antonov AN-225 – known as Mriya or “dream” in Ukrainian – is the heaviest aircraft ever built and has been in service for more than three decades.

But it is now reportedly out of action after being wrecked by Russian forces, who claimed to have captured the Hostomel airfield where the plane was located on Friday.

In a tweet, the Antonov Company said it could not verify the “technical condition” of the aircraft until it had been “inspected by experts”.

On Sunday, Ukrainian state defence company Ukroboronprom – which manages Antonov – vowed the aircraft would be rebuilt using cash from Moscow.

“The restoration is estimated to take over 3 bln USD (£2.2billion) and over 5 years,” the statement said.

“Our task is to ensure that these costs are covered by the Russian Federation, which has caused intentional damage to Ukraine’s aviation and the air cargo sector.

“According to the director of Antonov Airlines, one of the engines was dismantled for repairs and the plane wasn’t able to take off that day, although the appropriate commands were given.”

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed the reported destruction of the plane – which delivered relief supplies following the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and medical supplies during the Covid pandemic.

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“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!” he wrote on Twitter.

It’s not been confirmed how badly the plane has been damaged.

Meanwhile, peace talks are due to be held between Ukraine and Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed today – despite Putin putting his nuclear forces on high alert.

Diplomats from Kyiv and Moscow are set to meet “without preconditions” near the Prypyat River on the Belarusian border as Putin’s invasion rumbles on for the fourth day.

But Zelenskyy admitted he’s not confident of a positive resolution from the talks, saying: “I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try, so that later not a single citizen of Ukraine has any doubt that I, as president, tried to stop the war.”

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It comes after Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert just after warning the West “may face the greatest consequences in history”.

The Russian tyrant is said to be “furious” he’s not been able to subdue Ukraine and lashed out at NATO for its “unfriendly measures” he says forced him into the chilling nuclear gamble.

The move means Putin has ordered the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear warheads prepared for launched readiness.

That raises the terrifying possibility the crisis and a miscalculation could spill over into nuclear war.

In an address on state TV, Putin claimed aggressive statements by NATO leaders and economic sanctions against Moscow have forced his hand.

He said “not only do Western countries take unfriendly measures” such as “illegal sanctions” but “top officials of leading NATO countries allow themselves to make aggressive statements with regards to our country”.

Putin said he has now ordered his military command to put Russia’s deterrence forces – a reference to units which include nuclear arms – on high alert.

“I order the defence minister and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into a special mode of combat service,” Putin said.

Hero Ukrainian troops and civilians are scrambling to beat off the Russian invaders following a day of fighting during which Russian troops failed to capture the capital.

Shells rained down across Ukraine following the invasion – as the battle for the capital, Kyiv, stretched into a fourth day.

The city awoke to more air raid sirens after missile attacks that turned the sky orange during what Zelenskyy said was a “brutal” night.