Ukrainian separatists shot down a military transport plane in the east of the country, killing a number of soliders, the Kiev authorities said early Saturday.
The Ukraine Air Force Ilyushin-76 aircraft was approaching an airport in the town of Luhansk with “military personnel, machinery, equipment and supplies” when it came under “anti-aircraft and heavy machine gun fire,” the military said online.
The plane was carrying 49 people, US broadcaster CNN reported, citing an unnamed source from a Ukrainian military “anti-terror” unit.
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Fatalities were feared, but no numbers given. The military statement said it “expresses its sincere condolences to parents, relatives and friends” of soldiers affected.
The area has seen weeks of clashes weeks between security forces of the Kiev central government and the militias of the recently self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic.