Ukraine’s Interior Minister died in a helicopter crash

The Interior Minister of Ukraine, Denis Monastyrsky, died this morning, around 8.20, in a helicopter crash. The 42-year-old is one of (at least) 15 victims – including 3 children – of the crash: Anton Geraschenko, adviser to the ministry, confirmed in a tweet that, together with him, the first deputy minister Yevheniy Yenin and the secretary of state Yuriy Lubkovychis also died, and 29 other people were injured.

The helicopter is crashed near a kindergarten and to a residential building in the town of Brovary on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The nine people who were on board the aircraft died, while the other victims were locals who “brought their children to kindergarten”, as explained by Kyrylo Tymoshenko, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration. «The purpose of the helicopter flight was to carry out work in one of the hot spots of our country, where hostilities are underway. The Home Secretary was on his way there.’

Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the regional military administration of Kiev, added that «at the moment there is no information on the number of missing children. Identification is in progress. Parents are arriving, lists are being compiled. At the time of the tragedy, the children and kindergarten staff were there. At the moment, everyone has been evacuated.”

«Today a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary, Kiev region. A state emergency services helicopter crashed and a fire broke out at the crash site,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media. «The pain is unspeakable. I instructed the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police of Ukraine and other authorized bodies, to find out all the circumstances of what happened.”

At the moment, the cause of the accident is not yet known. “We are considering all possibilities,” added Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, but it could take several days before the reason for the crash is identified. There was fog when the helicopter landed in an area where there are several tall buildings. According to some, the crash occurred when the helicopter hit the asylum by pilot error, although it was unclear why it was flying so low in a built-up area.