A Russian An-26 aircraft crashed in occupied Crimea on March 31st, killing Lieutenant General Aleksandr Otroschenko and six staff officers.
Crimea Crash
Lieutenant General Aleksandr Ivanovich Otroschenko, commander of the mixed aviation corps of the Northern Fleet, was aboard the Russian An-26 aircraft that crashed in temporarily occupied Crimea on March 31st, according to Kovalentenko via Telegram.
Otroschenko was accompanied by six officers from the Northern Fleet’s staff during the flight, and reports indicate all perished, stated the head of the CPD, which operates under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (RNBO).
Casualty Reports and Russian Explanation
On April 1st, media reported 23 passengers and six crew members died in the An-26 crash the previous day, a figure confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Ministry of Defense asserted “no impact” on the aircraft and attributed the crash to technical issues.
Additional Aircraft Loss Reported
According to military blogger Fighterbomber, closely linked to Russian Aerospace Forces, a Russian Su-34 bomber crashed in Crimea shortly before the An-26 incident, as reported by the Ukrainian Pravda portal.
Drone Base and Radar Station Destroyed
Major Robert “Madiar” Browdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS), reported on Thursday that a base for heavy Orion drones, along with four of the drones, an An-72 aircraft, and a Russian radar station were destroyed in Crimea between April 1st and 2nd.
Russian Air Force Facing Issues
The Russian military air force is experiencing a series of incidents due to overexploitation of aircraft, technical malfunctions, and a lack of access to Western components.
Recent Russian Aircraft Incidents
In December of last year, an An-22 transport aircraft crashed near Ivanovo, killing all seven people on board. Previously, in July, a Su-34 bomber crashed in the Nizhny Novgorod region during a training flight, with the crew successfully ejecting. In April of the same year, a Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in the Irkutsk region after hitting a power line, resulting in one pilot’s death. In March 2025, a Mi-28 attack helicopter crashed in the Leningrad region, killing the entire crew.
Reported by
Jarosław Junko, from Kyiv
Edited by
Kamila Cieślik