( CNN ) -- A Ukrainian transport plane was shot down Monday by a rocket that Kiev 's government contends appeared to be coming from Russia . The plane was about four miles high over eastern Ukraine 's Luhansk region near the Russian border , where the Ukrainian military has been battling pro-Russian separatists , officials said . Crew members of the Antonov-26 made contact with the army , officials said , and the Ukrainian military is trying to bring them into territory it controls . The plane 's altitude was too high to be fired upon from the ground with a portable missile system , a statement from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said . The plane was hit with `` a more powerful missile weapon that was probably used from the territory of the Russian Federation , '' the statement said . A spokeswoman with the Russian President 's office said she could not confirm any missile had been fired from the Russian Federation . On Friday , pro-Russian separatists fired rockets at a Ukrainian military camp in the Luhansk region , killing 19 troops and injuring at least 55 others , according to Ukraine 's counterterrorism office . CNN 's Elwyn Lopez contributed to this report .
Rocket downs a Russian transport plane near Ukrainian border , Russian Federation officials say . A missile probably from Kiev hit plane , Kiev President 's statement says . Ukrainian military says it 's in contact with plane 's crew members .