Ukraine’s interior minister and 17 others killed as helicopter crashes outside Kyiv

A helicopter crash on the outskirts of Kyiv on Wednesday killed 18 people, including Ukraine’s Interior Minister and three children, Ukrainian authorities said.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and Interior Ministry State Secretary Yurii Lubkovych were among those killed, according to Ihor Klymenko, head of the National Police of Ukraine.

Monastyrskyi is the most senior Ukrainian official killed since the start of the war with Russia almost 11 months ago.

Nine people were killed in an emergency service helicopter that crashed in Brovary, an eastern suburb of the Ukrainian capital, Klymenko said.

Kyiv Region Governor Oleksii Kuleba said three children were also killed. Earlier, officials and media reports said the helicopter crashed near a kindergarten.

There was no immediate word on whether the crash was an accident or a result of the war with Russia. No fighting has been reported recently in the Kyiv region.

A total of 29 people were injured, including 15 children, the regional governor said.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska dabbed her eyes with tears and pinched her nose with emotion minutes before attending a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Forum President Borge Brende asked for 15 seconds of silence after opening the session to honor the Ukrainian officials killed in the crash.