Military transport aircraft lost contact during flight over occupied Crimea; The Russian Ministry of Defense attributes the accident, preliminarily, to technical failure.
A Russian An-26 military transport plane disappeared from radar over temporarily occupied Crimea and crashed on Tuesday, in an incident that, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, left 29 people dead. The aircraft was carrying out a scheduled flight when communication was lost, mobilizing search and rescue teams to the area of the likely crash.
The case was initially reported by Russian channels linked to the military and by pro-Kremlin propagandists, including Fighterbomber. In the first reports, there were around 30 people on board. Moscow later reported that the plane was carrying 23 passengers and six crew members, totaling 29 occupants.
According to the official Russian version, there is no initial evidence that the aircraft was hit. The preliminary hypothesis suggested by the authorities is a technical failure or crew error, although the exact circumstances of the accident have not yet been detailed.
The disappearance of the An-26 once again draws attention to the risks involving Russian military flights in Crimea, an area annexed by Russia in 2014 and at the center of successive episodes linked to the war. Aircraft of this model have been the target of previous incidents on the peninsula.
One of the most talked about cases occurred in December 2025, when the An-26KPA Kalibrovshchik laboratory aircraft was destroyed during takeoff. The new accident reinforces the sequence of losses and incidents involving Russian air assets in the region.
Source and images: Militarnyi | Wikimedia | Telegram @bomber_fighter. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
