KIEV (Reuters) - A small Ukrainian military helicopter crashed in the east of the country on Sunday, killing its two crew members and three passengers, Ukraine’s defense ministry said.

The aircraft, a Soviet-designed Mi-2, crashed near Kramatorsk, the headquarter of Ukrainian government forces that oppose pro-Russian separatists, the ministry said.

The ministry said it is most likely that the Mi-2 had flown into a power line.</s>Ukraine's Defense Ministry said a military helicopter has crashed in the eastern Donbas region, killing 5 people aboard.

The ministry said the crash happened March 26 near Kramatorsk, the headquarters of the military operation against Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.

Two crew members and three passengers died when the Mi-2 copter crashed after apparently flying into some power lines, the ministry said.

Ukrainian government forces have battled separatists in the east for nearly three years, in a war that has killed more than 9,900 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
A Ukrainian military Mi-2 transport helicopter crashes after hitting a power line near Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, killing all five people aboard.