Russian military plane crashes in Crimea, 29 dead: TASS

A Russian Antonov-26 military transport aircraft crashed while flying over the Crimean Peninsula on Tuesday evening, resulting in the deaths of all 29 people on board. The Russian Defense Ministry, as reported by the TASS news agency on Wednesday, confirmed that contact with the plane was lost at approximately 6:00 p.m. Moscow time during a scheduled flight.

Search and rescue teams successfully located the wreckage, confirming that the tragedy claimed the lives of six crew members and 23 passengers. Initial reports from the crash site indicate that the aircraft was completely destroyed upon impact, leaving no survivors among the military personnel and passengers traveling on the transport mission.

Preliminary investigations by the Defense Ministry suggest that the incident was likely the result of a technical failure. Experts examining the wreckage noted a lack of evidence suggesting any external impact or hostile action, pointing toward mechanical or systems issues as the primary focus of the ongoing inquiry.

The Antonov-26 is a twin-engine turboprop that has been a workhorse for military transport for decades. This latest crash adds to a series of recent aviation incidents involving aging military hardware, prompting further questions regarding the maintenance and operational safety of the fleet during active regional deployments.