According to a statement released by the state defense enterprise Ukroboronprom, General Director of the Antonov State Enterprise Serhiy Bychkov was fired from his post on March 29.
The dismissal followed in connection with the “investigation to verify certain facts published in the media” regarding the destruction of the An-225 Mriya transport aircraft at the Gostomel airfield near Kyiv at the end of February
No specific facts were given, but in a video posted on YouTube on March 19, former An-225 pilot Major Dmitry Antonov said that in January, NATO warned the plane's owners about Russia's impending special operation in Ukraine and recommended that the Mriya be deployed outside the country as a security measure.
The largest transport aircraft in the world was destroyed during an artillery attack on Gostoment airfield near Kyiv.