This handout picture taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on September 25, 2020 shows rescuers working on the place of the Antonov-26 transport aircraft crash at Chuhuiv military air base, 30 kilometres southeast of Kharkiv. - Ukraine's interior ministry on September 25, 2020 said at least 20 people were killed when a military plane crash landed in the Kharkiv region in the east of the country. Ukraine's air force said the Antonov-26 transport plane was carrying crew and cadets. The interior ministry said there were "20 dead and two seriously injured" among the 24 passengers. (Photo by - / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko confirmed the death toll to AFP, describing the incident as a "shock", and saying that the cause of the crash was being investigated.
Footage of the crash released by officials on social media showed the smouldering remains of the Antonov-26 transport plane.
"Most of [the dead] were students" of the Kharkiv National Air Force University, the air force said in a statement.