Ukrainian interior minister and several children die in helicopter crash near Kyiv

The Ukrainian authorities had initially spoken of at least 18 fatalities, but the deputy head of the Presidential Office in Kyiv, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, later corrected the number down to 16.

Ukrainian interior minister and several children die in helicopter crash near Kyiv

The Ukrainian authorities had initially spoken of at least 18 fatalities, but the deputy head of the Presidential Office in Kyiv, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, later corrected the number down to 16. According to him, 30 other people were injured, including 12 children who were being treated in hospital.

The head of Ukraine's national police, Ihor Klymenko, said that in addition to Monastyrsky, several high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Interior died, including First Deputy Interior Minister Yevheniy Yenin. Nine of the 16 fatalities were on board the helicopter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in the online service Telegram of a "terrible tragedy" that caused "unspeakable pain". The helicopter crashed on the grounds of the kindergarten.

As reported by AFP journalists from Brovary, rescue workers and firefighters were on site. Charred remains of the helicopter were visible at the crash site, along with debris from a nearby building and a car destroyed by the helicopter's rotor blades.

According to a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force and President Zelensky, the crashed plane belonged to the government's emergency service in Kyiv and was therefore the responsibility of the Interior Ministry. According to the presidential office in Kyiv, the helicopter was on its way to the front in the war with Russia.

Federal Interior Minister Faeser offered Ukraine support in clarifying the causes of the crash. Faeser said that she had made a corresponding offer to the Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev in a telephone call. In the conversation, she also expressed her "heartfelt sympathy," explained Faeser. "The ambassador told me that the causes are still unclear and are now being investigated," she added.

The killed 42-year-old Monastyrskyj was appointed interior minister in 2021. The trained lawyer was a member of President Selenskyj's "Servant of the People" party in the Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Monastyrskyj was considered an important figure in the Ukrainian government. Prime Minister Schmyhal spoke of a "heavy loss for the government cabinet and the entire state".

Chancellor Scholz wrote in the short message service Twitter of a "sad day" for Ukraine, which again shows "the immense toll" that "Ukraine is paying in this war". "On this sad day, our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and the injured" as well as with President Selenskyj, "who lost his interior minister today," added Scholz. EU Council President Charles Michel wrote in the short message service Twitter that he mourns Monastyrskyj. The interior minister was "a great friend of the EU".

Brovary, the scene of the crash, is about 20 kilometers from downtown Kiev. In the first days of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, there had been fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the city.

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