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Russian military transport plane goes down in occupied Crimea
A Russian An-26 aircraft crashed in the Moscow-controlled Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea on Tuesday, leaving all 29 people on board dead, the Russian defense ministry reported.
Circumstances of the crash
The ministry stated the plane lost contact with air traffic control during what it described as a "routine flight." Search teams located the wreckage later the same day.
Officials ruled out external causes, citing a "technical failure" and noting no signs of missile strikes, drone attacks, or bird collisions. The plane carried seven crew members and 22 passengers.
Investigation launched
Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed the incident and opened a probe into potential flight safety violations. Communication with the aircraft was lost around 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT), according to the state-run news agency Tass.
Ukrainian authorities have not issued any statements regarding the crash.
Aircraft background
The An-26 is a Soviet-era transport plane primarily used for military logistics, capable of carrying heavy cargo or a limited number of passengers over short to medium distances. Designed by the Ukrainian aerospace manufacturer Antonov, the model has been in service since the late 1960s.
Previous incidents involving the An-26 include a 2020 crash in Kharkiv, Ukraine, that killed 26 people, most of them cadets. In 2021, 28 died in a crash in Russia's Far East, and in 2022, one person was killed in a crash in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.
Crimea's strategic significance
The crash occurred in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, the region has seen persistent military activity.
Ukrainian forces have frequently targeted Russian military installations in Crimea, which shares a border with the partially occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly insisted that Russia must withdraw from Crimea as part of any ceasefire agreement. In November, a U.S.-backed peace proposal suggested Kyiv might temporarily cede control of the peninsula.
