Multiple announcements were made regarding the potential completion of the second airframe, though its construction largely remained on hold due to a lack of funding.

It was commonly used to transport objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as 130-ton generators, wind turbine blades, and diesel locomotives.

The Mriya routinely attracted a high degree of public interest, attaining a global following due to its size and its uniqueness.

As originally set out, the mission and objectives were broadly identical to that of the United States' Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, having been designed to airlift the Energia rocket's boosters and the Buran-class orbiters for the Soviet space program.

A completely new tail was also required to handle the wake turbulence generated by the bulky external loads that would be carried on the aircraft's upper fuselage.

During the early 2000s, studies were conducted into the production of an even larger An-225 derivative, the eight-engined Antonov An-325, which was intended to be used in conjunction with Russia's in-development MAKS space plane.

[18] In April 2013, the Russian government announced plans to revive Soviet-era air launch projects that would use a purpose-built modification to the An-225 as a midair launchpad.

AICC intends to modernize the second unfinished An-225 and develop it into an air launch to orbit platform for commercial satellites at altitudes up to 12,000 m (39,000 ft).

[6] The aviation media cast doubt on the production restart, speculating that the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war would prevent various necessary components that would have been sourced from Russia from being delivered; it may be possible that China could manufacture them instead.

[20] That project did not move forward but UkrOboronProm, the parent company of Antonov, had continued to seek partners to finish the second airframe.

[21] On 25 March 2020, the first An-225 commenced a series of test flights from Hostomel Airport near Kyiv, after more than a year out of service, for the installation of a domestically designed power management and control system.

[39] By this time, the Soviet Union was no longer in existence and the Buran program had been terminated; consequently, the sole completed An-225 was left unused and without a purpose.

[25][24] The aircraft was re-engined, received modifications to modernise and better adapt it to heavy cargo transport operations, and placed back in service under the management of Antonov Airlines.

[18] It became the workhorse of the Antonov Airlines fleet, transporting objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as 130-ton generators, wind turbine blades, and even diesel locomotives.

[42] It also became an asset to international relief organizations for its ability to quickly transport huge quantities of emergency supplies during multiple disaster-relief operations.

[43] The type's first flight in commercial service departed from Stuttgart, Germany, on 3 January 2002, and flew to Thumrait, Oman, with 216,000 prepared meals for American military personnel based in the region.

[55] On 11 September 2001, carrying five main battle tanks[56] at a record load of 253.82 tonnes (279.79 short tons) of cargo,[57] the An-225 flew at an altitude of up to 10,750 m (35,270 ft)[58] over a closed circuit of 1,000 km (620 mi) at a speed of 763.2 km/h (474.2 mph).

[6] On 11 June 2010, the An-225 carried the world's longest piece of air cargo, two 42.1 m (138 ft) test wind turbine blades from Tianjin, China, to Skrydstrup, Denmark.

[61][62] On 27 September 2012, the An-225 hosted the highest altitude art exhibition in the world at 10,150 metres (33,301 feet) above sea level during the AviaSvit-XX1 Aerospace Show at Antonov Airport.

[65] The aircraft's last commercial mission was from 2 to 5 February 2022, to collect almost 90 tons of COVID-19 test kits from Tianjin, China, and deliver them to Billund, Denmark, via Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

[76] Several other aircraft were in the same hangar as the An-225 at the time of its destruction, and were also destroyed or damaged during the battle; these include a Hungarian-registered Cessna 152, which was crushed by the An-225's left wingtip after the latter fell on top of it.

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.

[81] On 3 March, a video circulated on social media, showing the aircraft burning inside the hangar alongside several Russian trucks, confirming its likely destruction.

[82][83] On 4 March, footage on Russian state television Channel One showed the first clear ground images of the destroyed aircraft, with much of the front section missing.

[81] Following Russia's withdrawal from northern Ukraine, the second unfinished aircraft airframe was reported to be intact, despite Russian artillery strikes on the hangar housing it at the Antonov factory at Sviatoshyn Airfield.

[90] However, Andrii Sovenko, a former An-225 pilot and aviation author, said:[90] It's impossible to talk about the repair or restoration of this aircraft -- we can only talk about the construction of another Mriya, using individual components that can be salvaged from the wreckage and combining them with those that were, back in the 1980s, intended for the construction of a second aircraft.On 20 May 2022, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his intentions to complete the second An-225, to replace the destroyed aircraft and as a tribute to all the Ukrainian pilots killed during the war.

[93] In April 2023, Ukrainian prosecutors charged the former head of Antonov, Serhii Bychkov, with "official negligence" for failing to order the aircraft flown to Leipzig, Germany, ahead of the Russian invasion.