The helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and an apartment building at 8:20 a.m. local time in Brovary, a suburb of the capital Kyiv. At least 15 people have died. All nine on board the helicopter died. In addition, several people who were on the ground, including children, lost their lives. Among the dead are the entire leadership of Ukraine’s Ministry of the Interior, Minister of the Interior Denys Monastyrskyj, Deputy Minister of the Interior Yevheny Jenin and State Secretary Yuriy Lubkovych. The helicopter was on its way to the front near Kharkiv, according to the president’s office. Among other things, Monastyrsky was responsible for the police and security authorities in Ukraine. Denys Monastyrskyj, Yevhenij Jenin, and Yurij Lubkovych are among the dead in the helicopter crash in Kyiv. Photo: TELEGRAM – It is a great loss for the country, says Prime Minister Denys Sjmyhal in a statement. – My condolences to their families and to all the victims. Violent destruction after the helicopter crash in Kyiv on Wednesday. Unknown cause The helicopter crash led to a violent fire in the surrounding buildings. The governor of the Kyiv region Oleksij Kuleba first stated that the number of dead was 18. A few hours later, the emergency services came with an updated message that 16 have been confirmed dead. 29 are damaged. Among those who have been sent to hospital are 15 children, writes the Reuters news agency. The cause of the helicopter crash is not known, but there was dense fog in the area. Russia has not commented on the incident, and Ukrainian authorities have not said anything about Russian attacks in the area when the helicopter crashed. There are many indications that it was an accident. – This is a dark morning. The fatal helicopter crash is a cruel tragedy, writes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on the Telegram messaging service. – Denys, Jevhenij, Jurij, several who worked for the Ministry of the Interior … True patriots. May they rest in peace. May all who perished this blackened morning rest in peace, writes the president. Denys Monastyrskyj (42) was appointed interior minister by Zelenskyj in 2021. The president says he has asked the country’s police and security authorities to find out all the circumstances surrounding what happened. A representative of the presidential office confirms that the military helicopter had nine people on board, all of whom died. And that the rest of the dead are children and adults who were in the nursery school. Emergency services moved shortly after the helicopter crash in Kyiv on Wednesday. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO / Reuters Everyone in the helicopter died The emergency services were quickly on the scene in the district of Brovary, which is located around 20 kilometers north-east of the center of Kyiv and has around 110,000 inhabitants. At the start of the Russian invasion, Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of Brovary, but the Russian forces withdrew from the area after about a month and a half. It was initially unclear exactly where the helicopter crashed, but images from the area show that it crashed into a building and that the crash must have led to an explosion. The building has extensive damage and the large rotor of the helicopter is lying on the ground. Rescuers at the scene of the accident, where a car at the entrance to a residence was hit by helicopter parts. Photo: VIACHESLAV RATYNSKYI / Reuters – Unfortunately, this happened with a helicopter from the state emergency services, says spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Jurij Ihnat. The helicopter was a French-made Super Puma type, which is used by all Ukraine’s emergency services. – It is too early to say anything about the cause of the accident, says Ihnat. Ukrainian authorities have asked anyone who witnessed the crash to report to the police and other relevant authorities. Every detail is important, they emphasize. People lay flowers by the fence of the kindergarten in Brovary outside Kyiv where the military helicopter crashed on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO / Reuters Does the war not affect Chief researcher at the Defense Research Institute, Kristian Åtland, tells news that for the Ukrainian government it is a big loss that the Minister of the Interior and his closest associates perished. – It is a particularly painful loss for the affected ministry, which also lost a first deputy minister and a state secretary in the accident. In addition, the incident is of course a tragedy for the families and next of kin of the deceased. – The investigation will presumably bring clarity to the causes of the accident. At the present time, there is little indication that it is due to Russian sabotage or the use of weapons, says Åtland. In any case, he does not think the tragic crash will affect the war. – There is no reason to believe that the incident will have consequences for the Ukrainian government’s dynamism, political priorities or the further course of the war. Ukraine will have a new interior minister, and the country will continue its resistance struggle with undiminished force, says Åtland. Condolences from the world Several governments in Europe have already sent their condolences to the Ukrainian government. – It is terrible to hear about yet another tragic incident in Ukraine, which has affected both people on the ground and a politician colleague and his staff. – This is another piece of bad news in a country that receives bad news on a daily basis, says Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt to news. EU President Charles Michel has also sent his condolences to Ukraine. – We join Ukraine in mourning after this tragic helicopter accident, writes Michel on Twitter, and calls Monastyrskyj a good friend of the EU. Follow the development in news’s News Centre:
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14 died after a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Kyiv – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
