The helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary, northeast of the capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
A military helicopter is said to have crashed, and at least 15 people, including three children, were killed. The mayor of the Kyiv region earlier on Wednesday put the death toll at 18, but now says the number is 15.
Among those killed were Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, Deputy Interior Minister Yevnezh Genin, and State Minister Yury Lobkovich in the Interior Ministry.
The helicopter was on its way to the war front, according to the president’s office.
Denis Monastyrskij, Yevnezh Jenin, and Yurij Lobkovich are among those killed in a helicopter crash in Kyiv.
Photo: Telegram
Among other things, Monastyrsky was in charge of the police and security authorities in Ukraine.
– It’s a big loss for the country, says Prime Minister Denis Gemihal.
Unknown reason
The crash of the helicopter started a violent fire in the surrounding buildings. In addition, 29 people have been injured, according to the city’s mayor.
It is not yet known what caused the helicopter crash. Russia has not commented on the incident, and the Ukrainian authorities have not said anything about the Russian attacks in the area when the helicopter crashed. There are many indications that it was an accident.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fatal helicopter crash was a cruel tragedy.
Zelensky says he asked the country’s police and security authorities to find out all the circumstances surrounding what happened.
Everyone in the helicopter was killed
There were nine people on board the helicopter. They are all dead. The rest of the dead were children and adults who were in kindergarten. This is what the representative of the President’s Office says.
– It is terrible to hear about another tragic incident in Ukraine, which affected both people on the ground and a fellow politician and his staff. This is yet another bad news in a country that receives bad news on a daily basis, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anneken Huitfeldt tells NRK.
A helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Emergency services are located in the Brovary district on the outskirts of Kyiv, which has a population of around 110,000. Videos on social media show, among other things, a building on fire.
There must have been children and staff at the daycare when the helicopter crashed.
Emergency services acted shortly after a helicopter crashed in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Photo: Valentin Ogirienko/Reuters
It was somewhat unclear where the helicopter crashed, but photos from the area now show it crashed into a building. The building has been severely damaged and the helicopter’s large rotor is lying on the ground.
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