According to authorities, more than a dozen other people, including children, were killed in the helicopter crash near the capital on Wednesday, including Ukraine’s interior minister.
The most senior figure to pass away since Russia invaded Ukraine almost 11 months ago was Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, who was in charge of the country’s police and emergency services.
His passing, along with the deaths of two other ministry members, marked Ukraine’s second tragedy in four days following a Russian missile strike on an apartment complex that resulted in the deaths of several civilians.
Although it was unclear right first whether the morning crash occurred next to a kindergarten and, apparently in dense fog, was an accident or connected to the fighting, Ukrainian officials launched an investigation right once.
There haven’t been any recent reports of conflict in the Kyiv region.
According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the collision claimed the lives of 17 persons, including four children and nine helicopter occupants.
There have reportedly been 25 injuries, 11 youngsters, and early government accounts included a higher death toll and slightly varied casualty figures.
On a “dark morning,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the accident “a dreadful catastrophe.”
He posted on Telegram, “The pain is beyond words.
The 42-year-old Monastyrskyi was “a prominent figure in supporting the Ukrainian people during Putin’s illegitimate invasion,” according to British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who was “moved by his determination, optimism, and patriotism.”
Yevhen Yenin, Monastyrskyi’s deputy, and Yurii Lubkovych, state secretary of the ministry of internal affairs, were also killed, according to the commander of the Ukrainian National Police.
Senior officials frequently fly in helicopters at low altitudes and rapid speeds during the fighting.
According to police director Ihor Klymenko, nine people died when the helicopter crashed in the Brovary neighborhood of the Ukrainian capital.
The other victims were reportedly lying on the ground.
At least four victims were wrapped in reflective sheets at the crash site close to a kindergarten.
Officials removed pieces of the burned-out, twisted wreckage positioned next to an apartment complex and at a playground.
A few walls were partially destroyed and turned black.
BREAKING NEWS: At least 16 people were killed in a helicopter crash outside Kyiv this morning, including Ukraine’s interior minister and three children, according to an official.
“The pain is unspeakable,” President Zelenskyy said of the incident. https://t.co/MLjlspPt4Q pic.twitter.com/UL4B0oqGJA
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 18, 2023
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