Ukraine's interior minister among 14 killed in helicopter crash near nursery in Kyiv suburb
The helicopter crashed in the city of Brovary in the Kyiv region, ITV News' John Ray reports
At least 14 people have been killed, including Ukraine's interior minister and two children, after a helicopter crashed near a nursery and a residential building in a Kyiv suburb.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, 42, his deputy Yevhen Yenin, 42, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were among those killed, according to National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the world to move faster in its decision-making because “tragedies are outpacing life; the tyranny is outpacing democracy.”
In a video address to the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday Zalenskyy asked for a moment of silence for victims of a helicopter crash.
While a cause is not yet known, he said that “every individual, every death is a result of war."
Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska, who is in Davos for the summit, had been photographed wiping tears from her eyes as news of the crash broke earlier that day.
At 8.20am the helicopter crashed, "damaging a pre-school" in the city of Brovary in the Kyiv region, on Wednesday, according to a Telegram post from the emergency services.
A 14-story residential building and three cars were also damaged. The helicopter immediately burst into flames, CNN reports.
“The crash killed the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs – the Minister, the First Deputy Minister and the State Secretary,” Klymenko said, according to CNN.
Nine of the people who died were on the helicopter, he said, and three of them were children.
Nine of the 14 victims of the crash identified so far were locals "bringing their children to the kindergarten," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration.
It was previously reported 18 people had died, this has been revised to 16 and now to 14 by Ukrainian officials
Another 25 people are injured, including 11 children, he added.
An earlier social media post by Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office said the number of reports of injured victims is increasing.
There are 127 people and 30 vehicles from the Emergency Services involved in the rescue effort.
"At the time of the tragedy, there were children and the staff in the kindergarten," Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv regional military administration wrote on Telegram, according to CNN.
Kuleba told reporters: "There is currently no information on the number of missing children," at the scene of the crash.
"Identification is ongoing. Parents are coming, lists are being compiled."
“For now, we are considering all possible versions of the helicopter crash accident,” Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said on Telegram.
The investigation is being carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine, he said.
During his address in Davos, Zelenskyy urged world leaders to "not hesitate" to supply Ukraine with more defence weapons.
“The supplying of Ukraine with air defense systems must outpace Russia’s vast missile attacks.
"The supplies of Western tanks must out outpace another invasion of Russian tanks."
When asked about engaging with Russia, Zelenskyy said: “They will have to recognise their own mistakes, they will have to recognise Ukrainian statutes and they will have to really respect our territorial integrity."
The helicopter crash came just four days after a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in south-eastern Ukraine killed 45 civilians, including six children - the deadliest attack on civilians since the spring.
“Haven’t had time to recover from one tragedy, there is already another one," Tymoshenko said.
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said his death was “truly heart-breaking”.
She tweeted: “Interior minister Denys Monastyrsky was a leading light in supporting the Ukrainian people during Putin’s illegal invasion and when we spoke in October I was struck by his determination, optimism and patriotism.
“My thoughts go out to all those who have died in this horrible tragedy and their families. The UK will always stand with our Ukrainian friends.”
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, said: "We will always remember you. Your families will be cared for. Eternal memory to my friends."