TEHRAN – In a statement on Sunday night, Iran offered condolences to Ukraine over a military plane crash that killed 26 people.

Following the plane crash, Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, offered his condolences to the Ukrainian government and people, as well as to the families of those killed in the tragic crash.

Only one person survived the crash.

A Ukrainian military plane carrying dozens of cadets and officers came down Friday near the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a day of mourning after the crash, saying he wanted an “objective and unbiased” investigation carried out immediately into the crash.

He said, “We have lost young cadets and experienced military servicemen who had their whole life ahead of them. It is hard to choose the words to describe the pain of this loss.”

SM/PA