A Ukrainian military helicopter crashed in the war-torn east of the country on Sunday, killing all five people aboard after apparently hitting a power line, in what is believed to be an accident, the army said.

“Five people died in this tragedy — three crew members and two passengers,” army spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk said.

The incident occurred near the village of Malynivka, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of government-controlled city of Kramatorsk in the war-torn Donetsk region.

Motuzianyk said that the cause of the crash appeared to be “collision with a power line”, but it has yet to be investigated.

Nearly 10,000 people have died since the start of a pro-Russian rebellion in 2014 that Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of masterminding.

Both Ukraine and the West — which has imposed sanctions on Russia as a result of the unrest — say the separatist regions receive military backing from Moscow, although Russia has never officially recognised them.
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