The general prosecutor’s office announced at the same time that it is conducting an investigation and that it is examining all possible causes – At least 15 dead and 25 injured in the accident
The helicopter carrying Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastirsky, which crashed today near Kyiv, killing at least 15 people, including the official and children, was going to the front, the Ukrainian presidency announced today.
“The aim of this flight was (to go) to one of the hot spots of our country where battles are taking place. The interior minister was going there,” said the advisor to the Ukrainian presidency Kirill Tymoshenko on Ukrainian TV.
The president Volodymyr Zelensky expressed regret for the “terrible tragedy” and his “unspeakable pain” over the helicopter crash near Kyiv.
🚁 As a result of the crash in #Brovarythe leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs died: Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Eugene Yenin, and State Secretary Yurii Lubkovich.
the head of the National Police Ihor Klymenko pic.twitter.com/L2NBV6L48l
— Markets Today (@marketsday) January 18, 2023
“Today a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary,” a large city located on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv, Zelensky noted in a Telegram message.
“The pain is indescribable. The helicopter fell on the premises of a kindergarten,” he added.
The death of the interior minister in the crash of the helicopter transporting him to the front is a great loss, the prime minister of Ukraine said at the same time Dennis Schmihal.
“Tragedy in Brovary. (…) A great loss for the government and the entire state,” he said in a Telegram message, in which he requested the immediate formation of a special team to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy.
Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba had put the death toll at 18, but emergency services later put the death toll at 15 and said 25 were injured, including 10 children.
BREAKING and AWFUL
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lubkovych DIED in the HELICOPTER CATASTROPHE in the Kyiv region❗️
A total of 16 victims, including 2 children. pic.twitter.com/pz8I0TcrYE
— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) January 18, 2023
helicopter is crashed in #Brovary, #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/AyMaS3z9fZ
— Navneet Amar (@amar_navneet) January 18, 2023
Zelenskiy confirmed that at least 15 people were killed, including 3 children and the interior minister, when the helicopter crashed into the grounds of a kindergarten in the town of Brovary, setting off a fire in the area, and noted that an investigation was now underway into the exact death toll.
“I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police of Ukraine and other relevant organizations, to investigate all the circumstances to ascertain what happened,” he added in his Telegram message.
“As of this minute, it is known that 3 children were killed,” Zelenskiy notes, expressing his condolences to the friends and families of the victims.
The head of the national police clarified that 42-year-old Deputy Interior Minister Yevgeny Jenin and the Secretary of the Interior Ministry were also killed in the accident.
941/ #Kiev #Kyiv #Brovary What do we know so far: “9 Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД) on board, including Minister Denis #Monastyrsky all allegedly perished”. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/MJsPpKSnRO
— Hooligan (@Ghost132607472) January 18, 2023
Nine of the confirmed dead were on board the helicopter, Ikhor Klimenko also noted, adding that “the crash in Brovary resulted in the death of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. They were on board the helicopter of the State Emergency Service.”
Monastirsky, who was appointed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2021, was in charge of Ukraine’s police and internal security and is the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to be killed since the war began.
Videos released on social media show a building engulfed in flames, while people can be heard screaming.
At the time of the accident, children and employees of the kindergarten were there, Kyiv regional governor Oleksii Kuleba said earlier in a Telegram message.
Mind refuses to believe it, but it happened. A great tragedy. When a helicopter crashed in #Brovary, Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and Minister’s state secretary Yurii Lubkovych died. Moreover, children in the kindergarten were killed and injured… pic.twitter.com/1tMuGowOQL
— Olena Shuliak (@OlenaShuliak) January 18, 2023
According to images posted on social media, a huge fire broke out after the helicopter crashed.
The cause of the helicopter crash is currently unknown. Russia, whose troops invaded Ukraine last February, has not yet commented on the news, while Ukrainian officials have not reported any Russian attack in the region at the time of the crash.
The general prosecutor’s office announced at the same time that it is conducting an investigation and that it is examining all possible causes.
The helicopter crashed in Brovary, a city of about 100,000 people on the eastern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.
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