Following the crash of a Ukrainian military plane, which resulted in the death of a number of Ukrainian nationals, he expressed his sympathy with the Ukrainian nation and government as well as families of victims of the deadly crash.
The crash occurred at around 20:50 local time (19:50 CET) near the eastern city of Chuhuyiv, in the Kharkiv region, some two kilometers away from a military airport.
The 28 people on board the AN-26 plane were military pilots and cadets of the Kozhedub Air Force University. The ministry had initially said that 24 people were on the plane when it crashed.
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