Death Toll Climbs To 26 In Ukrainian Military Plane Crash

Topline

The death toll rose to 26 Saturday from a Ukrainian military aircraft crash that left only one survivor and prompted a call for a full assessment of the country’s military equipment, according to media reports.

Key Facts

Key Background

The cadets were aboard an An-26, transport plane used by both military and civilian operators. Defense Minister Andrei Taran said the plane that crashed was built in 1977, according to AP. The crash was the second large air disaster to afflict Ukraine this year. In January, a Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines was shot down shortly after takeoff from the airport in Tehran, Iran, killing all 176 people aboard. The plane was shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards amid high tensions after the United States killed a top general in a drone strike.

Tangent

This week Republican Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, released a long-awaited report on the impact of Hunter Biden, son of Democratic Presidential contender Joe Biden, serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The report determined that the board post was “awkward” and “problematic” for his father, who was then vice president, but the study does not show that it influenced U.S. government policy, according to NPR. An impeachment trial against President Trump was connected in part to his attempts to pressure Ukraine’s leader to announce an investigation into Hunter Biden in a bid to hurt his father, Trump’s political rival.

Further Reading

Ukraine plane crash death toll rises to 26, with 1 survivor (Associated Press)