Deputy Interior Minister Ukla, killed in helicopter accident... 14 dead, 25 injured

On January 18th (local time), a helicopter carrying the Ukrainian Interior Minister on board crashed in the outskirts of Kyiv, killing 14 people, including the minister and deputy minister, and injuring 25 others.

According to Reuters, AFP and other sources, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service and the President's Office announced on the morning of the same day that a helicopter belonging to the State Emergency Service crashed into Brovary in the northeastern outskirts of Kyiv, killing 14 people and injuring 25 others.

In this accident, 9 people, including Chief Monastirsky and First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior Ennin, 5 Ministry of Interior bureaucrats, 1 police officer, and 3 crew members, died. The first five died. Twenty-five people, including 11 children, were injured, most of them with burns.

An initial tally of 18 dead, including four children, and 30 injured, was later revised by authorities.

According to Reuters, Monastirsky is the highest-ranking official to have died since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president's office explained that they were heading forward. Police said helicopter's destination was the northeastern Kharkiv region. The aircraft involved in the accident was a French-made Eurocopter EC225 "Super Puma".

After the accident, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, "A terrible tragedy has occurred. Words cannot express the pain."

The SBU said it was considering aircraft malfunctions, safety violations, and sabotage. Attorney General Kostin said "we are currently considering all possibilities regarding this accident", while Air Force spokesman Ifnert said it was "too early to say what caused the accident" and an investigation could take weeks.

After the accident, SNS released a video of the helicopter crashing around the kindergarten and burning the building. The scene was dark and foggy at the time, and the helicopter reportedly crashed near a residential building after colliding with a nine-story kindergarten building. Some witnesses claimed that the helicopter was level with the building.

Reuters said there was no Russian reaction to the accident and that Ukraine did not mention a Russian attack during the time of the accident. There are also no signs of a Russian attack on Kyiv during the time of the accident.