Ukraine Detains Officials Related To The World's Largest Cargo Plane Destroy At The Beginning Of The Russian Invasion

The Antonov An-225 plane was destroyed by a Russian attack. (Wikimedia Commons/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

JAKARTA - Ukraine handed over suspicions on Friday to three former aircraft manufacturer managers Antonov, for blocking the country's military and allowing Russia to destroy the iconic giant cargo plane "Mriya" at the start of a full-scale war.

The Attorney General's Office and the SBU security service said the former official prevented the Ukrainian National Guard from building a fort at the main airport on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv from January to February last year, as the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion loomed over.

SBU and prosecutors said in a statement that the two suspects were detained and former general director Antonov was declared fugitives. The suspects, who were not named, face a 15-year prison sentence.

The suspicion notification indicates to the recipient that they are the ones being investigated by law enforcement.

It is known that Antonov Airport in Hostomel, an international cargo terminal with a long runway built to handle the world's largest cargo plane Antonov An-225 or "Mriya", is the main target of Russian President Vladimir Putin's planned attack on Kyiv.

Ukrainian-made "Mriya", which in Ukrainian means "dream", weighs about 705 tons and has a wingspan of 290 feet.

The plane was destroyed as Russian forces battled to seize the airport by the end of February 2022, as Ukraine tried to prevent the Kyiv crash.

Its destruction was announced on February 27, 2022, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeting that "Russia may have destroyed our 'Mriya'. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free, and democratic European country," as quoted by CNN.

The Russian military took control of the area for several weeks before the Ukrainian armed forces claimed it was back.

"We are conducting a fair investigation into this case. Those who... helped the enemy destroy one of the Ukrainian symbols must receive appropriate punishment," Vasyl Malyuk, head of the SBU security service, said in a statement.

The jumbo-sized cargo plane was originally built in the late 1980s to transport the Soviet Union's shuttle.

"Our country will definitely build a new plane, because 'Dream', like Ukraine, cannot be destroyed," said Malyuk.