The Ukrainian presidency announced today, Wednesday, that the helicopter carrying the interior minister and a number of senior officials crashed while on its way to the front.
And 18 people, including the Ukrainian Minister of Interior, Denis Monasterskij, and 3 children, were killed as a result of a helicopter crash near a kindergarten, Wednesday morning, in the Kyiv region, according to the Ukrainian police.
“We have information about 18 dead people, including 3 children,” the police said in a statement. It also referred in its statement to the killing of the Minister of Interior, his first assistant and another senior official who were on board the helicopter.
And Ihor Klimenko, commander of the Ukrainian National Police, announced that among the dead were the Minister of Interior, his deputy Yevgeny Yenin, and Secretary of State in the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lobkovich.
Klimenko added that 9 of the dead were on board the emergency services helicopter that crashed in Brovary.
Brovary, home to about 100,000 people, is located about 20 kilometers northeast of Kyiv.
Kyiv police confirmed 22 injured, including 10 children, who were taken to hospitals.
The Kyiv police opened an investigation into the accident, while a source told Al-Arabiya that it was likely that the helicopter of the Minister of Interior had fallen in Kyiv due to a technical malfunction.
There was no immediate word on whether the crash was caused by an accident or as a result of the nearly 11-month-old war with Russia.
As a result of a helicopter crash in Brovary Minister and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine died. Emergency Service helicopter crashed at local kindergarten. 16 dead, two of them children. Terrible tragedy. pic.twitter.com/KiKR5ItDoI
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) January 18, 2023
Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities announced, on Wednesday, that a number of victims had not been determined, as a result of a helicopter crash near a school in the Kyiv region.
“In the city of Brovary (the eastern suburb of Kiev), a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and an apartment building… there are victims,” wrote the region’s governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, on Telegram.
He added, “Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the accident site.”
