Branson jets in to Ukraine with offer to rebuild bombed airport
SIR RICHARD BRANSON, founder of Virgin Galactic, visited a bombed-out airport outside Kyiv yesterday to talk about rebuilding a site that once hosted the world’s largest cargo plane.
Sir Richard was pictured walking around the ruins of Antonov terminal at Hostomel, a town outside Kyiv that saw heavy fighting and was briefly occupied by the Russians earlier in the war.
The site still bears signs of the hostilities, with charred vehicles visible in the background of pictures.
Taras Dumenko, the mayor of Hostomel, said on Facebook yesterday he had given a tour to the British billionaire. “Richard Branson has been steadfast in his support of Ukraine, its sovereignty, territorial integrity, advocating for the toughest sanctions against Russia, its leaders and economy,” Mr Dumenko said.
Sir Richard spoke to local authorities and Ukraine’s state-owned weapons manufacturer about rebuilding the airfield, according to Mr Dumenko.
The airfield had housed Mriya, the world’s largest cargo plane, but it was destroyed in fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops in March.
Authorities said Mriya, which means “dream” in Ukrainian, was beyond repair but Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has since called it a “matter of ambition” to build a new one.
Sir Richard has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.
In an article penned on the day of the Russian invasion in February, the Virgin leader lashed out at Vladimir Putin for a “unilateral, unprovoked act of aggression that must not only be condemned in the strongest terms, but met with the strongest of responses”. He also expressed his solidarity with Russians who oppose the war.
Sir Richard, 71, also called for “crippling sanctions” against Russia to defeat a rise of totalitarianism in Europe.