Helicopter crash near Kyiv leaves 18 dead, including top Ukrainian officials

According to Ukrainian authorities, a helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb left 18 people dead on Wednesday, including Ukrainian officials and three children.

An emergency services helicopter crashed in Brovary, an eastern suburb of the Ukrainian capital. Nine people who died were aboard the helicopter.

Among those killed were Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych, according to Ihor Klymenko, chief of Ukraine’s National Police. 

Monastyrskyi is the most senior Ukrainian official to die since the war with Russia began last February.

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Kyiv Regional Governor Oleksii Kuleba said three children were killed in the crash near a kindergarten.

It remains unclear at this time if the crash was an accident or connected to the ongoing war with Russia. No fighting has been reported in the Kyiv area as of late.

Kuleba said 29 people were injured in the crash, including 15 children.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska was seen with teary eyes as she pinched her nose in emotion just before attending a World Economic Forum session in Davos, Switzerland.

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To honor the Ukrainian officials killed in the crash, Forum President Borge Brende requested 15 seconds of silence after opening the session.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.