A helicopter crashed today near a kindergarten and residential buildings in the city of Brovary, in the Kiev region, and the accident caused 16 (not 18) deaths, including three children.
Among the victims were the Ukrainian Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Yuriy Lubkovich.
According to local media, 9 of the dead were on board the aircraft, which belongs to the Ukrainian State Emergency Services.
The other 9 "were locals who took their children to kindergarten," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential administration.
According to the head of the regional military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, 30 were injured, including 12 children.
The head of the national police, Ihor Klymenko,
he added that as a result of the accident "22 people are hospitalized, including 10 children. All the competent and specialized services are working on site. The accident site is under investigation".
The governor of the region, Oleksiy Kuleba, informed on Telegram that “in the city of Brovary, a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building. At the time of the tragedy, there were children and employees of the institution in the kindergarten. Everyone has been evacuated. Ambulance, police and fire services are working at the scene of the accident," Kuleba wrote.
A fire broke out in the kindergarten, which was then controlled by the fire brigade.
All competent and specialized services are working on site.
The crash site is under investigation." The governor of the region, Oleksiy Kuleba, informed on Telegram that "in the city of Brovary, a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building.
At the time of the tragedy, there were children and employees of the institution in the kindergarten.
All have been evacuated.
Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the accident," wrote Kuleba. A fire broke out in the kindergarten, which was then controlled by the firefighters.
All competent and specialized services are working on site.
The crash site is under investigation." The governor of the region, Oleksiy Kuleba, informed on Telegram that "in the city of Brovary, a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building.
At the time of the tragedy, there were children and employees of the institution in the kindergarten.
All have been evacuated.
Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the accident," wrote Kuleba. A fire broke out in the kindergarten, which was then controlled by the firefighters.
At the time of the tragedy, there were children and employees of the institution in the kindergarten.
All have been evacuated.
Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the accident," wrote Kuleba. A fire broke out in the kindergarten, which was then controlled by the firefighters.
At the time of the tragedy, there were children and employees of the institution in the kindergarten.
All have been evacuated.
Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the accident," wrote Kuleba. A fire broke out in the kindergarten, which was then controlled by the firefighters.
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of a "terrible tragedy" on a "black morning".
"The pain is unspeakable. The helicopter crashed on the territory of one of the kindergartens," he added, expressing his condolences "to all the families and friends of the victims," including "the team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs … true patriots of Ukraine".
The government, he added, has instructed "the Ukrainian Security Service, in collaboration with the National Police, to find out all the circumstances of the incident".
Prime Minister Denys Shymhal wrote on Telegram that he will come immediately
set up a special investigative team, describing the incident as "a great loss for the government team and for the whole state".
It is "too early" to talk about the causes of the disaster, Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said for his part, "The (investigative, ed.) commission will investigate the causes," he added.
"It won't be about 1-2 days, because research into plane crashes takes some time. A state commission will be created which will include several aviation specialists," he added
The police have launched an appeal for witnesses of the disaster to come forward: the adviser to the Kiev government, Anton Gerashchenko, reports this on Telegram.
"Any citizen who has the necessary information is requested to contact law enforcement. Every detail is important," Gerashchenko wrote.
Brovary, where the tragedy occurred, is a suburb of Kiev with a population of about 109,000 and is located about 25km east of the Ukrainian capital.
Eyewitnesses reported that there was an explosion on board the crashed helicopter.
This
was reported by Espreso Tv. "People report that there was a strong explosion and that the helicopter circled several times in the air and only then fell".
There are various hypotheses being examined by the Sbu security service on the causes of the accident, from the violation of the flight rules to "intentional actions to destroy the vehicle".
Ukrainska Pravda reports it.
“Sbu investigators have launched a preliminary investigation into the crash of a
helicopter in Brovary, Kyiv region. Several versions of the tragedy are currently being studied, including: violation of flight rules;️ technical malfunction of the helicopter and actions intended to destroy a vehicle".
Now the SBU officers are carrying out a complex of investigative and operational measures to establish all causal relationships and details of the tragedy.
Meanwhile, the State Emergency Service - to which the helicopter belonged - has published some details of the tragedy.
"On January 18, at 08:20 (7:20 in Italy) in the city of Brovary, Kiev region, following the crash of the State Emergency Service helicopter EC-225 (flight
number 54), the State Emergency Service building was damaged resulting in a fire, the windows of a fourteen-story residential building and three passenger cars" were damaged.
The fire, he added, was extinguished at 9:28 am local time.
And the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, has offered Kiev the help of Berlin in investigating the causes of the accident.
Faeser spoke about it today with the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev.
Faeser says she is shocked by the "terrible news" of the death of Monastyrskyj and others involved, including several children.
This was announced at a press conference by the spokesman for the German Ministry of the Interior, who also added that any German support in the investigation could come from experts in the aviation sector, security managers and the German federal police
The highest authorities of the European Union sent messages of support to the Ukrainian authorities after the incident.
The president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote on Twitter that "the tragedy strikes at the heart of war-torn Ukraine", assuring Ukrainians that "we mourn with you".
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, briefed the plenary session underway in Strasbourg on the incident, and declared: "I think I speak for all of us saying that our thoughts in this Chamber are with the brave people
of Ukraine, the families and loved ones of Minister Monastyrskyi and his deputy". The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, said that "we are close to the Ukrainian people in this moment of pain and wish the wounded a speedy recovery". Condolences and messages of support also from London. The Brovary disaster, writes Interior Minister Suella Braverman on Twitter, "breaks our hearts.
Minister Denys Monastyrsky has been an inspirational light for the Ukrainian people in the face of Putin's illegal invasion.
We spoke in October and I was impressed by his determination, his optimism, his patriotism."
For his part, the Unicef spokesman for Italy, Andrea Iacomini, said that the UN agency "is deeply saddened to learn of the helicopter crash that occurred today in a kindergarten near Kiev in Ukraine which killed and injured an as yet unconfirmed number of boys and girls".
"We express our deepest condolences to the families and communities affected, especially those who have lost
loved ones. This is truly a shocking and speechless episode. War must end, children always pay too high prices", he added.
"
Russia's victory is inevitable, it is based on the unity of the Russian people, on the heroism of special operations fighters, on the functioning of the military-industrial complex
". This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by the Tass. Putin called the bloody invasion of Ukraine that he ordered "an attempt to stop the war" in Donbass that began in 2014. This was reported by the Interfax agency. Yes estimates that tens of thousands of people, including scores of civilians, have died in the conflict in Ukraine since the invasion by Russian troops that began in February last year."Everything we are doing today, including during the military operation special, is an attempt to stop this war" in Donbass. "This is the meaning of our operation," Putin said at a meeting dedicated to the siege of Leningrad.
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WHO WAS THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR
Denys Monastyrsky, the interior minister who died today aboard the helicopter that crashed in Brovary for causes yet to be defined, was a young politician in the Zelensky government: born on 12 June 1980 in Khmelnytskyi, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, had graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Administration and Law of his city and, after a doctorate in law, began his career as a lawyer, also heading the law department of the Khmelnytskyi University, where worked as an associate professor.
Monastyrsky was also a co-founder and board member of the Youth Cultural Association "Into the Future through Culture".
Between 2014 and 2019 Monastyrsky was assistant consultant to Anton Gerashchenko.
Ahead of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election Monastyrsky was presented as an expert on law enforcement reform by presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky's "Team".
Candidate with the party for Servant of the People in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, he was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament and became the head of the parliamentary commission for law enforcement.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov resigns as Interior Minister on 12 July 2021, Monastyrsky takes over the leadership of the ministry.
by presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky on law enforcement reform.
Candidate with the party for Servant of the People in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, he was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament and became the head of the parliamentary commission for law enforcement.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov resigns as Interior Minister on 12 July 2021, Monastyrsky takes over the leadership of the ministry.
by presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky on law enforcement reform.
Candidate with the party for Servant of the People in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, he was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament, becoming the head of the parliamentary commission for law enforcement.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov resigns as Interior Minister on 12 July 2021, Monastyrsky takes over the leadership of the ministry.
Many colleagues remember him today with esteem and affection.
An ever-helpful politician who answered "24/7 phone calls", "a
smiling, friendly, patriotic person and a civil servant of Ukraine".
This is how MP Mariia Mezentseva recalls Monastyrskyi.
Speaking to the BBC, the MP said she and her colleagues hold fond memories of a man she believes was a key member of the war effort in Ukraine.
"My first sensations when I saw the news I thought it was false - said the deputy - "but unfortunately it is true.
He was a very brilliant man, a friendly, patriotic person, he was very close to President Zelensky, being
by his side from day one to the start of his election campaign."
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