A Russian military transport aircraft crashed on Tuesday while undergoing a test flight after maintenance, the country’s defence ministry announced.
According to state news agency TASS, seven people were on board the AN-22 aircraft at the time of the crash, though their fate remains unknown as search efforts continue.
The defence ministry said the aircraft “went down in an uninhabited area” in the Ivanovo region, located about 200 kilometres east of Moscow. Emergency response teams have been deployed to the scene, and a formal investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the incident.
Authorities stressed that there is currently no indication linking the crash to Russia’s ongoing military operations in Ukraine or any external interference.
