This is not meant to demean the human cost in life going on as I write this, but in the OP I mentioned being at an airshow talking to the Ukrainian crew of an Antonov 124.

There was a big brother of the 124, the ANT 225, originally built to carry the Russian version of the shuttle. It is one of a kind and looks like one of a kind. It has flown constantly as a private contractor for getting incredible loads of great shape or bulk from point A to point B. To look at it you could imagine it as the perfect musclebound monster to fly anything produced by Jurassic Park! That also goes for the smaller 124, which has been the second largest plane on the planet - so far (I'm ignoring the Californian new experimental Stratolaunch for now).

There is an article from CNN with the unconfirmed report that the 225 has been destroyed.

It is definitely symbolic in this bullying war between two neighbors with such interlocking history and culture.