Pro-Russian separatists have shot down a Ukrainian military plane in the city of Luhansk, killing 49 people, according to a Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman.
It is the biggest loss of life suffered by government forces in a single incident since Kiev started a military operation to try to defeat the insurgency in east Ukraine.
A statement released by the ministry accused pro-Russian "terrorists" of shooting down the Ilyushin-76 aircraft, which was about to land at Luhansk airport.
It said the rebels "cynically and treacherously" downed the plane using anti-aircraft guns and heavy calibre guns at 11pm on Friday UK time (1am local time).
Authorities have expressed their condolences to the parents and relatives of those killed, the statement added.
Luhansk is close to the Russian border Spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying: "This is our preliminary information. Details about how many people were on board are still being checked."
He added the plane was carrying nine crew and 40 paratroopers.
The prosecutor's office said a criminal investigation had been opened under anti-terrorism laws.
The Luhansk Oblast is at the heart of the separatist rebellion launched in April, and local media is reporting that there is fighting in the region's administrative centre, also called Luhansk.
The rebels said the Ukrainian air force have fired on the industrial town of Horlivka, north of Donetsk.
A Russian tank seen at a military base near Simferopol in March It comes after Russia was accused by the US State Department of sending tanks and heavy weaponry to Ukraine in support of separatists in the country's east.
Several tanks and rocket launchers were moved into Ukraine from an arms depot inside Russia, the department said.
"We assess that separatists in eastern Ukraine have acquired heavy weapons and military equipment from Russia, including Russian tanks and multiple rocket launchers," spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
The statement comes after Kiev alleged three tanks had crossed from Russia into Ukrainian territory this week.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the action was "unacceptable".
Ms Harf said three T-64 tanks, several BM-21 or Grad rocket launchers and other vehicles had crossed into Ukraine's east as part of a convoy.
Amateur videos posted on the internet in recent days show the same kind of tanks moving through cities in eastern Ukraine, including Snizhnye, Torez, and Makiyivka.
"Russia will claim these tanks were taken from Ukrainian forces, but no Ukrainian tank units have been operating in that area," she said.
"We are confident that these tanks came from Russia. This is unacceptable. A failure by Russia to deescalate the situation will lead to additional costs."
Moscow has denied the allegation.
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