Two Russian planes crash in huge £33m blow for Putin | World | News

The crash of two Russian planes and one ‘hitting a cliff’ left Putin with a £33 million hit.

Russia lost 29 military personnel in the mysterious An-26 military transport plane crash that occurred in rugged terrain in occupied Crimea.

A second Putin fighter jet (a £30 million Su-34 fighter-bomber) was lost in a separate incident, reportedly colliding with Ukrainian drones.

A total of 23 fighters and six crew members lost their lives in the £3 million An-26 crash, which occurred after the aging aircraft lost contact on the Crimean peninsula.

Rescuers arrived at the crash site and said there were “no signs of a catastrophic impact on the ship.”

According to the information obtained, the plane either crashed into a cliff or crashed into rocks.

Russian officials did not initially disclose the type of military personnel on board the crashed plane.

While they pointed to a possible “technical malfunction”, Ukrainian sources claimed it was brought down by “friendly fire”.

In the statement made by the Ministry of Defense, it was said: “The search and rescue group found the crash site of the An-26 plane. According to the report received from the scene, 6 crew members and 23 passengers on the plane lost their lives.”

Unofficial reports indicated that the crash site was in the Belbek Valley, close to a major military airfield near Sevastopol.

Belbek Airport is a place frequently targeted by Ukrainian armed forces.

The An-26 has been in service since the 1960s.

While military sources stated that the Su-34 crashed and the pilot lost his life, the fate of the navigator has not yet been clarified.

The location of the accident was not specified.

Russia lost hundreds of military aircraft (planes and helicopters) in the four-year war with Ukraine.