Ukrainian Interior Minister killed in helicopter crash

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky was killed in a helicopter crash in the city of Brovary on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko.

Monastyrsky’s first deputy and the Interior Ministry’s state secretary were also reportedly killed in the crash.

“At the moment, we know of 16 people who were killed, two of them children. Out of those, nine were aboard the helicopter. 22 people were hospitalized with injuries, and 10 of them are children,” Klymenko reported.

The aircraft, a Ukrainian Emergency Service helicopter, crashed on the morning of January 18 between a residential building and a kindergarten, causing a fire. Authorities reported that children and staff were evacuated from the kindergarten.