Top officials of Ukraine's Ministry for Internal Affairs killed in helicopter crash near Kyiv

Denis Monastyrsky, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and his deputy Yevgeny Yenin, were killed in a helicopter crash in the Kyiv region, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

The crash occurred during a flight over the town of Brovary. The helicopter crashed on the building of a kindergarten. Another 16 people, including three children, were killed on the ground as a result of the crash. At least 22 people were injured, including 10 minors.

According to eyewitnesses, before the crash, the helicopter made several circles over a supermarket building, changed its course towards the city centre, began to descend sharply and crashed near the kindergarten.

Sabotage on board helicopter possible

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the deceased minister, said that the department did not have information about the causes of the crash. It is believed that the helicopter could crash either due to a piloting error in bad weather conditions or as a result of the deliberate destruction of the helicopter.

"We will soon find out whether it was an act of sabotage, a technical malfunction or a violation of flight safety rules," Anton Gerashchenko, Advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said adding that there was thick fog and low visibility in the area where the crash occurred.

Commenting on the details of the crash, Kirill Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, explained that the top officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were flying to one of the hot spots. Seven other people were on board the helicopter with them. All of them were killed in the crash as well.

Tymoshenko did not specify where exactly the officials were heading to.

Denis Monastyrsky took office as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in July 2021, where he replaced Arsen Avakov.

Prior to his appointment, Monastyrsky worked as a lawyer at large Western companies. In 2019, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada from the pro-presidential Servant of the People Party.