A helicopter crash Wednesday outside of the Ukrainian capital killed at least 14 people, including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi and several senior ministry officials in the aircraft and a child on the ground.
Officials said the crash occurred near a kindergarten in Brovary, a suburb east of Kyiv.
It was not immediately clear what caused the helicopter to go down on a foggy morning, whether it was an accident or war-related, although no fighting had been reported recently in the capital region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post he had directed authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Zelenskyy, speaking by video to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the crash had a broad connection to the war with Russia, adding: “The war has many dimensions, not just on the battlefields.”
Zelenskyy called the crash a “terrible tragedy.” He said the exact number of casualties was still being determined.
“The pain is unspeakable,” Zelenskyy said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden expressed their “deepest condolences” about the crash, saying, “We grieve with all those who are mourning this heartbreaking tragedy.”
They said Monastyrskyi and his aides “were deeply involved in the preservation of Ukraine’s democracy—both its defense against Russian aggression, and the vital work of reforms to strengthen Ukraine’s institutions through this war and into the future.”
Monastyrskyi oversaw Ukraine’s police and emergency services and is the most senior official to die since Russia invaded nearly 11 months ago.
Early official reports gave differing numbers of casualties. Later, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said at least 14 people were killed, including nine aboard the helicopter, and a child on the ground. It said 25 people were injured, including 11 children.
Kyiv regional Gov. Oleksii Kuleba told Ukrainian television that emergency services were still identifying remains and that the death toll could rise.
The Ukraine National Police said the crash killed five Interior Ministry officials, one national police official and three crew members on the helicopter.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called the 42-year-old Monastyrskyi “a leading light in supporting the Ukrainian people during [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion.” She said she was “struck by his determination, optimism and patriotism.”
The crash occurred just days after a Russian strike on an apartment building in southeastern Ukraine killed 45 people, including six children—the deadliest attack on civilians since last spring.
“Another very sad day today—new losses,” said Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, dabbing teary eyes and pinching her nose as she responded to the news while at the World Economic Forum.
The forum held a moment of silence after opening the session to honor the Ukrainian officials killed.
Putin, speaking to a group of veterans in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, defended last February’s invasion by offering a variation on arguments he has used previously.
He said Moscow’s actions were intended to stop a “war” that has raged since 2014 in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists have battled Ukrainian forces.
“All what we are doing today as part of the special military operation is an attempt to stop this war. This is the meaning of our operation—protecting people who live on those territories,” he said.
Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S., have rejected Russia’s justifications for the war, saying that Kyiv posed no threat to Moscow and the invasion was unprovoked.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
