Giant cargo jets sidelined by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sidelined a fleet of massive air freighters that oil companies and engineering firms rely on to carry oversize items such as helicopters, power turbines and are even used for spacecraft. The Antonov An-124 was once a symbol of cooperation between the two countries -- designed in Ukraine and used by Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Group for missions ranging from transporting Boeing Co. aircraft parts to providing disaster aid in Puerto Rico. Volga-Dnepr’s fleet of 12 An-124s is now hemmed in by sanctions, while others in Ukraine are caught up in the war itself. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sidelined a fleet of massive air freighters that oil companies and engineering firms rely on to carry oversize items such as helicopters, power turbines and are even used for spacecraft. The Antonov An-124 was once a symbol of cooperation between the two countries -- designed in Ukraine and used by Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Group for missions ranging from transporting Boeing Co. aircraft parts to providing disaster aid in Puerto Rico. Volga-Dnepr’s fleet of 12 An-124s is now hemmed in by sanctions, while others in Ukraine are caught up in the war itself. The sole Antonov An-225, a larger six-engine variant designed to carry the Soviet Union’s abortive space shuttle, is already reported damaged beyond repair in a battle for Hostomel airport outside Kyiv. It ranked as the biggest plane flying. Morgan-Evans said that managers at Antonov Airlines, which operated the An-225 and has seven An-124s, told him the Ukrainian company’s commercial premises have been destroyed. An unknown number of the planes were on missions elsewhere and appear to have escaped the conflict. <br/>