Ukraine situation escalates, Mriya is "destroyed"

Ukraine situation escalates, Mriya is “destroyed”

February 28, 2022

On February 23, Russian troops invaded the Ukraine. The area is now defined as an Active Conflict Zone and EASA has warned there are additional safety risks in flying in the bordering 100NM airspace over Russia and Belarus.

Yesterday, February 27, the EU shut its airspace to all Russian planes. “We are shutting down EU airspace for Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft,” said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.

Commercial airlines are avoiding airspace around Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus following Russia’s invasion.

Russia’s biggest airline, Aeroflot, said it would cancel all flights to European destinations until further notice in a retaliatory move on Sunday February 27.

It has also been reported that the much-loved Antonov AN-225, the world’s largest plane that is nicknamed Mriya, has been destroyed in a Russian attack, according to Ukrainian officials.

“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!” wrote Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.

According to US news outlet, CNN, the Ukrainian state defence company Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, on February 28 issued a statement saying the aircraft had been destroyed but would be rebuilt at Russia’s expense – a cost it put at $3 billion.

“The restoration is estimated to take over USD $3 billion and over five 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.”

The BBC reports that Ukrainian authorities have announced that their delegation has arrived at the Ukraine-Belarus border to start peace talks with the Russian delegation.

The main issue on their agenda, they say, is a ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian territory.

In his address yesterday February 27, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that he didn’t expect a breakthrough from these talks.

But, he added, they should try and use this chance even if it is small, so that no-one can blame Ukraine for not trying to stop the war.