Ukraine’s interior minister among 18 killed in Kyiv helicopter crash

Europe, News January 19, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Eighteen people including Ukraine’s interior minister, other senior ministry officials, and three children were killed on January 18 morning when a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside Kyiv.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were among those killed, Ukraine’s National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said in a statement on January 18.

The helicopter came down close to the nursery and a residential building in Brovary to the northeast of the capital, local officials said. Kyiv Oblast Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said 29 people were also hurt, including 15 children. He mentioned that “there were children and staff in the nursery at the time of this tragedy.”

According to Police Chief Ihor Klymenko, the group was flying in a helicopter owned by the State Emergency Services, “As a result of the crash in Brovary, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine was killed.” Klymenko said in his statement.

Ukraine’s interior minister and two children among 17 killed in helicopter crash near a kindergarten in Kyiv suburb pic.twitter.com/LVRH752lkD
— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) January 18, 2023

Soon after the crash took place in the morning, several videos and photos started to appear on social media showing the burning buildings while people could be heard screaming in the background. So far officials have not confirmed what caused the helicopter to crash.

While many observers are quoting a technical fault, the possibility of an external attack has not been ruled out. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the incident. Russian troops invaded Ukraine last February and captured the area where the crash took place, however, Ukrainian forces took back control of the region. Ukrainian officials made no reference to any Russian attack in the area at the time.

The helicopter that crashed was reportedly a Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma that belonged to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Dead bodies seen on the ground at the site where a helicopter falls on civil infrastructure buildings, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, January 18, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Medics and emergency personnel work at the site a where a helicopter falls on civil infrastructure buildings, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, January 18, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Military and onlookers stand at the site where a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside the capital Kyiv on January 18, 2023. (Image Credit: Sergai Supinski/AFP)

Tributes pour in for victims

The 43-year-old Monastyrskyi was appointed as the minister of internal affairs in 2021 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a written statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the crash “a terrible tragedy” and said that he has ordered the Ukrainian Security Services to “find out all the circumstances.” Zelenskyy described all the officials as “true patriots of Ukraine.” He further added that “May they rest in peace! May all those whose lives were taken this black morning rest in peace!”

Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian interior ministry adviser, said “The causes of the tragedy are being established. Whether it was sabotage, a technical malfunction, a violation of flight safety rules, we will soon find out.” Paying tribute to the victims, he said: “We will always remember you. Your families will be cared for.”

My friends, statesmen Denys Monastyrskyi, Yevhen Yenin, Yurii Lubkovych, everyone who was on board of that helicopter, were patriots who worked to make Ukraine stronger.

We will always remember you. Your families will be cared for.

Eternal memory to my friends. pic.twitter.com/SdHfujCUAI
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) January 18, 2023

The news of Monastyrskyi’s death prompted a wave of reactions from many of his counterparts and foreign leaders.

President of the European Council Charles Michel paid tribute to Monastyrskyi as “a great friend of the EU.“ In his tweet, Michel said that the European Union joins Ukraine “in grief following the tragic helicopter accident in Brovary. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal ordered a special committee be set up to investigate the cause of the crash.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that he was “Saddened by the tragic death of the Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky” and said that his thoughts are with all the victims of this terrible event that occurred near a kindergarten.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described Monastyrskyi as “a true friend of the UK.”