Russian Telegram channels reported on Thursday that a Ukrainian drone allegedly struck an An-26 military transport aircraft at the Kacha airfield in occupied Crimea. The information was first released by the Russian channel “na_predel”.
According to the reports, there are dead and injured at the scene, possibly among crew members or representatives of the airbase command. The number of casualties has not yet been confirmed by official sources.
Earlier, at 2:52 p.m. local time, a Russian monitoring channel recorded an air-raid alert in the city of Kacha, located near the military base. The signal indicated the possibility of hostile activity in the region.
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The aircraft that was hit is reportedly an Antonov An-26, a Soviet tactical transport aircraft developed from the An-24T model.
The An-26 made its first flight in 1969 and entered service in 1975. Between 1969 and 1986, more than 1,400 units were produced in various configurations.
The model operates with a crew of five to six people and can carry up to 5.5 tons of cargo. It has a maximum speed of approximately 540 km/h and a range of about 2,500 km. One of its key features is the integrated rear ramp, which facilitates equipment loading and rapid cargo deployment.
Data from the independent platform Oryx indicate that Russia has already lost at least three An-26 aircraft — either destroyed or damaged — since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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Source and images: militarnyi | Telegram @na_predel | Wikimedia. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
