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A Russian military plane crash in annexed Crimea has killed six crew and 23 passengers, Russian news agencies reported in the early hours of Wednesday, citing the Defense Ministry.
The An-26 military transport plane was carrying out a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, the reports said. The military lost contact with the plane around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
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An An-26 plane is pictured at a base in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on March 9, 2014. On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, a Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed in annexed Crimea, killing 29 people on board. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen, File)
The Soviet-designed military transport turboprop aircraft crashed into a cliff, sources at the scene told state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said a total of seven crew members and 23 passengers were on board. It wasn’t immediately clear from official statements if one crew member had survived.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is pictured during a meeting on March 30, 2026. Since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, accidents involving Russian military planes have been frequent. (Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
The Investigative Committee said it has launched a criminal probe in connection with flight regulations and a search is underway in a mountainous forested area in the Bakhchisarai district.
The Interfax news agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying a suspected technical malfunction may have caused the crash and that there was no “damaging interference” with the aircraft.
Accidents involving Russian military planes have been frequent since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.
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Russian officials inspect a building after an Su-34 bomber military plane crashed into a residential area in Yeysk, Russia, in October 2022, killing 15 people. A military plane carrying crew and passengers crashed into a cliff in annexed Crimea on March 31, 2026, according to Russian officials. (Arkady Budnitsky/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
In December, an An-22 military transport plane crashed in Russia’s Ivanovo region, killing seven crew. In October, a MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the Lipetsk region, while a Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in the Siberian region of Irkutsk in April 2025.
In October 2022, a Su-34 bomber crashed into a residential area of Yeysk, a Russian city on the Azov sea, sparking a massive fire and killing 15 people.