The Antonov Serial Production Plant has been shelled this morning. The plant is reported to house the second unfinished airframe of the Antonov An-225, the largest plane ever built.
Plant under fire
The Kyiv city administration reported that the Antonov plant had been under fire earlier today. The plant is located in the Obolon district in the northeast of Kyiv. In a statement, they said:
“Firefighters, medics, and other services are working at the sites of the explosions. The first deputy chairman of KSCA Nikolay Povoroznyk reported about it.
According to updated information, one person died.” [translated]
The base is said to be the location of the second incomplete An-225 airframe. The Antonov An-225 was the largest plane in the world and was destroyed earlier this month by Russian forces. The aircraft was kept at Hostomel Airport, the site of intense conflict in the early days of the invasion. It could not be flown to safety as it was undergoing repairs at the time.
Following the battle at Hostomel, satellite imagery came out depicting heavy damage to the hangar housing the An-225. Later, footage from Russian state TV showed the plane to be utterly destroyed. UkrOboronProm, the parent company of Antonov, said they would rebuild the aircraft “at the cost of the occupier” and estimated the cost at $3Billion.
It is likely that that figure took into account the half-completed sister of the destroyed aircraft, still lying untouched in another Antonov storage facility. Should this second airframe be destroyed, the restoration of the sky giant could take much longer and cost much more than expected.
