A Ukrainian military plane transporting personnels and supplies was shot down early Saturday, killing all 49 people on board, a spokesman said. It is likely one of the bloodiest single events in that nation's current period of turmoil.
Military spokesman
from the anti-terror operation unit, Vladislav Seleznyov said that the Ilyushin-76 military
transport plane went down while approaching an airport in the eastern
Ukrainian city of Luhansk.
In a statement, Ukraine's
defense ministry said the plane, which was transporting military
personnel, was shot down by insurgents using anti-aircraft machine guns.
Also, Video posted to YouTube
claimed to show the plane being shot down. Small flashes can be seen
climbing skyward, followed by large flashes on the ground on the distant
horizon.
The plane was also carrying military machinery and supplies, the ministry said.
Officials originally had said the incident occurred late Friday but later updated the time.
It was reported that some hours before the plane
went down, Ukraine's Kiev-based government -- which is trying to regain
control of the country's restive south and east -- announced that an
operation targeting pro-Russian separatists in the city of Mariupol had
been successful.
Anton Geraschenko,
adviser to acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, said more
than 30 "terrorists" had been detained and their base destroyed. Other
separatists are hiding in homes and basements for safety, he said.
Four Ukrainian soldiers were injured in the operation, he said.
Residents of the
southeastern port city may in the past have blocked Ukraine's security
forces, he said, but "today, not one resident of Mariupol protected
terrorists."
Source: CNN.
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