Russian General Otroshchenko killed aboard An-26 plane that crashed in occupied Crimea – BBC
Lieutenant General Aleksandr Otroshchenko of the Russian army was on board the Russian military An-26 aircraft that crashed on March 31 in temporarily occupied Crimea.
This is claimed by sources of the BBC Russian Service among Northern Fleet military personnel and a resident of Severomorsk who lost a relative in the air crash, Censor.NET reports.
What is known?
Otroshchenko became commander of the Russian Northern Fleet’s mixed aviation corps in 2024. From 2010 to 2013, he commanded the naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet, and later also headed naval aviation there and commanded the Northern Fleet’s 45th Air Force and Air Defense Army.
In 2019, he received the rank of lieutenant general. In addition, in 2014, Aleksandr Otroshchenko took part in Russia’s occupation of Crimea and later in Russia’s operation in Syria.
The outlet says that a local woman’s relative was on board the An-26, and when asked about Otroshchenko, the woman said: "Yes, he died."
Russian media also report that six more officers from the Northern Fleet headquarters in Severomorsk were killed on board.
Background
- On Tuesday, March 31, it was reported that contact had been lost with a military transport An-26 aircraft during a scheduled flight over temporarily occupied Crimea. According to Russian media, up to 30 military personnel were on board the An-26.
- It later became known that the aircraft had crashed near the village of Kuibysheve in Bakhchysarai district.
