MOSCOW: Russia said on Tuesday that a military cargo plane with 15 people on board had crashed while taking off from an airfield for a schedule flight.

Moscow said the Ilyushin-76 plane crashed in the Ivanovo region, 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Moscow, after one of its engines caught fire.

“An Il-76 military transport plane crashed in the Ivanovo region while taking off to perform a scheduled flight. On board were eight crew members and seven passengers,” the defence ministry said in a statement carried by Russia news agencies.

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It said the crash was caused by “a fire in one of its engines” and it had sent a military commission to the air base in Ivanovo.

Russia has seen a huge increase in the air and land transport of troops and military equipment across its territory during its two-year offensive in Ukraine.

In January, Russia said Ukraine had downed an Il-76 near the countries’ shared border.

The Ilyushin plane is a large cargo plane.