According to Ukrainian authorities, a helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb left 18 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 on board the helicopter.
Among the dead were Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and Interior Ministry State Secretary Yurii Lubkovych, according to Ihor Klymenko, head of the Ukrainian National Police.
Monastyrskyi is the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to be killed since the war with Russia began last February.
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A view shows the site where a helicopter landed on civil infrastructure buildings in the city of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine.
Kyiv regional governor Oleksii Kuleba said three children died in the crash near a kindergarten.
It is not clear at this time if the crash was an accident or if it is related to the ongoing war with Russia. No fighting has been reported in the Kyiv area of late.
Emergency personnel work at a helicopter crash site in the city of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine.
Kuleba said 29 people were injured in the accident, including 15 children.
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska was seen teary-eyed as she pinched her nose in excitement just before attending a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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Police and emergency personnel work at a helicopter crash site in the city of Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv.
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To honor the Ukrainian officials killed in the accident, Forum President Borge Brende requested 15 seconds of silence after opening the session.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
