KIEV, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The AN-26 cargo plane of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was shot from small arms while flying over the Black Sea, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said on Wednesday.
"The plane has sustained damage as a result of the shooting. The crew was not affected," Poltorak wrote on Facebook, noting that the aircraft made a safe landing.
The plane came under attack around midday local time while performing a training flight in Ukraine's maritime economic zone near the southern port city of Odessa, Poltorak said, adding that the fire came from the Black Sea gas rig, which is controlled by Russia.
Later in the day, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has denied the accusation of shooting the plane.
An unnamed official from the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, who was cited by TASS Russian News Agency, said that the AN-26 carried out two low-altitude approaches to the Russian drilling platforms, which forced a security guard to fire four signal flares to prevent collision of the plane with one of the platforms.
