Twenty-nine killed as Russian military plane smashes into cliff in Crimea after 'malfunction'

"Contact was lost" with the plane, the Kremlin said - before claiming there was "no damage" to the aircraft.

Later that evening, it confirmed that 29 people were dead - six crew members and 23 passengers - with a mysterious malfunction to blame.

Russia said a rescue team had found its wreckage.

"The An-26 aircraft, with which communication was lost earlier, crashed into a cliff," Russia's Tass state news agency reported.

Local military bloggers claimed that Ukrainian drones were in the air over Crimea - occupied by Vladimir Putin's forces since 2014 - at around 10.30pm local time (8.30pm BST).

Ukraine's military has not commented on the crash.

The An-26 is a Soviet-era twin-engine turboprop aircraft, which has been widely used for short- and medium-haul transport.

It can carry up to 40 troops or just over five tons of cargo.

Ukraine's intelligence services destroyed two Russian An-26s in a drone attack on Crimea in September 2025.

Members of the "Ghosts" special unit hit two of planes and damaged coastal radar systems

In footage from a drone-mounted camera, the device could be seen approaching Russian military targets before unleashing strikes.

Seconds later, explosions could be seen lighting up the site, with thick smoke rising into the air as the aircraft burned.

Though last month, Ukrainian drones caused havoc for civilians in Crimea - though only after they were shot down by occupying Russian forces.

A downed Ukrainian UAV fell next to a five-storey apartment building in the port of Sevastopol, which hosts the Russian Black Sea Fleet, on March 9.

That injured nine people and caused considerable damage, the area's Russia-appointed Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

Mr Razvozhayev added the drone was filled with metal pieces and explosives and badly damaged the building when it fell next to it.

Of the nine injured, six people requiring hospital treatment, three of them children.