Three of Ukraine's top officials were among those killed in a deadly helicopter crash near the capital Kyiv on Wednesday morning.
Denys Monastyrsky, Ukraine's Interior Minister, his deputy minister Yevheniy Yenin and state secretary Yurii Lubkovich, were on board a helicopter belonging to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) when the crash occurred at 8.20 a.m. near a kindergarten in the city of Brovary during foggy weather conditions.
SES said a building belonging to the emergency service, a 14-story residential building, and three vehicles were damaged, along with the kindergarten.
Monastyrsky, 42, a close ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was on a "business trip" and traveling to a "hot spot" on the front line when the helicopter crashed, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's president's office.
Tymoshenko urged witnesses to come forward to help clarify the circumstances of the crash.
Monastyrsky, who was appointed to lead the Interior Ministry in July 2021, had often traveled with Zelensky to the frontlines in Ukraine throughout the war, which began nearly a year ago.
All nine people onboard the helicopter—an EC-225 "Super Puma" helicopter, which is designed for long-range passenger flights—were killed in the crash, authorities said. Ukrainian officials said that included six ministry officials and three crew members.
Three children were also killed, and at least 25 other people, including 10 children, were injured, officials said.
"Today a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary. The pain is unspeakable. The helicopter fell on the territory of one of the kindergartens," Zelensky said on Telegram.
The president said he ordered the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police of Ukraine and other authorized bodies, to investigate the circumstances of the crash.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, but Ukraine's Interior Ministry has said it was considering sabotage, equipment malfunction and violation of safety rules as possible causes.
It wasn't immediately clear if the crash was an accident, or related to the war.
"It is too early to talk about the reasons," for the helicopter crash, Yurii Ihnat, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Forces, told a local television channel.
Parents were bringing their children to the kindergarten when the helicopter crashed on Wednesday morning.
Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said authorities were working to identify those killed.
"There is currently no information on the number of missing children. Identification is ongoing. Parents are coming, lists are being compiled," he said.
Zelensky said the officials killed in the helicopter crash were "true patriots of Ukraine. May they rest in peace! May all those whose lives were taken this black morning rest in peace!"
"Tragedy far from the frontline, in Brovary," foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.
"I wish a speedy recovery to those injured. Denys Monastyrskyi and Yevhenii Yenin were close colleagues & friends of mine, true Ukrainian patriots. Huge loss for all of us," he said.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
