- A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed in illegally annexed Crimea on Tuesday evening, killing six crew members and 23 passengers.
- The aircraft, carrying a total of seven crew members and 23 passengers, lost contact around 6pm during a scheduled flight over the peninsula.
- Russia's Defence Ministry stated that a technical malfunction is believed to be the preliminary cause, ruling out any external interference.
- Sources at the crash site confirmed the plane plummeted into a cliff face.
- The Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the incident involving the Soviet-designed turboprop aircraft, which has a history of previous deadly crashes.
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