RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: How World's Largest Aircraft Was Destroyed | READ DETAILS

The enormous aircraft, named "Mriya," or "dream" in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked by "Russian occupants," Ukrainian authorities said, adding that they would rebuild the plane.

"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.

There has been no independent confirmation of the aircraft's destruction. A tweet from the Antonov Company said it could not verify the "technical condition" of the aircraft until it had been inspected by experts.

Ukrainian state defense company Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, on Sunday 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 3 billion USD 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.

In a later statement, the company said the airplane had been in on the ground near Kyiv on February 24 undergoing maintenance.

"According to the director of Antonov Airlines, one of the engines was dismantled for repairs and the plane wasn't able to take off that day, although the appropriate commands were given," it said.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show significant damage to part of the hangar at the Hostomel Air Base where the AN-225 is stored.

Russian forces claimed to have captured Hostomel airfield, where the AN-225 was located, on Friday. A CNN team on the ground witnessed Russian airborne troops taking up positions.

Meanwhile, NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System detected multiple fires at the airport, including at the hangar where the plane is kept. The fire at the hangar was detected at 11:13 a.m. on Sunday, according to the NASA data, which is obtained from a number of NOAA and NASA satellites.

It is not clear if these fires at the airport are the result of actual fires or explosions from military strikes.

CNN