Putin orders 'necessary assistance' following Russian jet crash

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After a Russian military plane crashed into an apartment complex in Yeysk near the border with Ukraine, Russian authorities said at least 13 people died as search operations ceased on Tuesday.

According to the ministry of emergency situations, as quoted by Russian media agencies, "In total, 13 people died, including three children, while 19 people were injured," as a result of the Sukhoi Su-34 crash into the nine-story residential building on Monday evening, causing a massive fire that spread over five floors. The fire was contained by Monday evening. 

The TASS news agency reported Kremlin's statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "all necessary assistance be given to casualties from the military plane incident." 

The plane went downhill after taking off to execute a training flight from the military airfield of the Southern Military District, and the Ministry of Defense added that it malfunctioned after "one of its engines caught fire during take-off" but the plane's pilots were able to eject before the blast. 

This comes following Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's agreement on the deployment of a joint regional group of forces in light of recent developments in Ukraine.

Per the statement released by regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev to reporters, his administration was "providing maximum assistance" to residents, promising to "figure out whether the house would be restored, or we will build new apartments."

A criminal investigation into the incident has been opened by Russia's investigative committee.

A similar incident took place last June when a military plane crashed in the city of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, when four people were killed and five others were wounded. An Ilyushin Il-76 military flight had fallen about 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow. The MoD said that “during a training flight, without cargo, an engine malfunction forced the crew to perform an emergency landing on rough ground,”  adding that the aircraft “partially” fell apart upon crashing onto the ground.