There has been a ton of misinformation about the destruction of the An-225. Right now almost any news source claims it’s destroyed by a Russian strike, or missile. Most claim it was destroyed during the battle for the airport. Which happened on the 24th (possibly into the 25th).
From all the information I can find it’s unlikely that it was destroyed by Russian forces. As it was in control by them and around the time of destruction Ukraine attacked the airport using artillery. There is also evidence that the plane was destroyed on the 26th or 27th
I’ll do the best with what I have, as I am currently not able to spend money on commercial satellite pictures.
Let’s see what timeline we can make from the sources available.
Note: Hostomel airport and Antonov airport refer to the same airport.
24th Feb:
An unverified Antonov pilot confirms Russia is on control of the base and the An-225 is not damaged. [7]
25th Feb:
On Friday afternoon, Russia’s defence ministry announced it had captured the Antonov airport, [3]
Ukraine says that Russian troops are in Kyiv’s northern outskirts and have taken Hostomel airport just outside the city [4]
TASS reports: “The latest intelligence data shows that Grad multiple rocket launchers have been deployed in Shevchenko Square in Kiev to deliver strikes against the area of the Gostomel aerodrome,” the spokesman said." [5]
26th Feb:
9:06:15 UTC satellite images show the hangar intact [2] [8]
27th Feb:
Illia Ponomarenko, a defense reporter for the Kyiv Independent, said on Sunday that the aircraft was ruined “amid a Russian attack.” [1]
Radio Liberty shares a picture of the plane in flames [1]
Satellite images of the hangar in flames [6] (possibly 17:54:15 UTC)
[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20220225161642/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60513116
