Media: Military helicopter crashes in Russian-occupied Crimea, killing 2

Two pilots were killed after a Mi-28N military helicopter crashed in Russian-occupied Crimea, BBC Russia reported on May 12.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the helicopter crashed during a "routine training exercise" in the Dzhankoi district of Crimea.

The crash is being attributed to equipment failure, BBC Russia wrote. There was allegedly no ammunition on board.

Mi-28N helicopters are "intended for defeating armored and non-armored vehicles, low-speed low-flying air targets, as well as manpower on the battlefield," BBC Russia wrote, citing a Russian Defense Ministry website.

Russia has occupied Crimea since 2014 in the wake of Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Since the start of the full-scale war, Russia has been using Crimea to launch missiles against mainland Ukraine and as a logistic route to transfer equipment to the southern battlefield.