Military plane downed in eastern Ukraine

Insurgents in eastern Ukraine Monday said that they had shot down a military transport plane near the city of Lugansk that borders Russia.

Earlier in the day, a Ukrainian military spokesman said they had lost contact with an An-26 aircraft near Luhansk in the restive eastern regions, where Ukrainian troops were battling with insurgents, Xinhua reported.

Fierce fighting and heavy casualties have been reported since the government forces resumed military operations against insurgents since early July.