Three children and three senior Kyiv officials among 18 killed in helicopter fireball crash near nursery in Ukraine

18 January 2023, 08:07 | Updated: 18 January 2023, 15:08

A helicopter crash near a nursery in a residential area of Ukraine has killed 18 people - including Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi and his deputy according to reports.

Three children are said to be among the dead, as footage circulating online shows an extensive blaze and debris spread over a wide residential area.

Oleksiy Kuleba, the head of Kyiv's regional military administration, has said the crash has left 29 injured - 15 of whom are children currently being treated in hospital, and 18 dead.

The crash took place in the Ukrainian city of Brovary, an area north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, with reports suggesting the helicopter was heading for the Ukrainian front line.

Part of helicopter removed from rubble in Brovary in Ukraine

Initial reports suggest the helicopter was not shot down.

With the weather dark and foggy at the time of the crash, it's instead believed the aircraft collided with a tall building that did not have aviation obstruction lighting in operation due to ongoing power outages in the country.

Leading tributes Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska fought back tears as she spoke to an audience in Davos.

She said: "Another very sad day today - new losses."

Holding back tears she added: "I think you understand my emotions. Perhaps they're a little bit out of place in the political and economic dialogue, but I am sure that just as the war has changed the whole world, it has also changed all of our dialogue.'

"We can also change this negative situation for the better."

Denis Monastyrsky, Ukraine's interior minister, was said to be one of nine people travelling in the helicopter at the time of the crash, alongside Ukraine's first deputy minister of internal affairs, Yevhen Yenin.

Both ministers are believed to have been killed, according to Igor Klymenko, the head of the National Police of Ukraine.

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The Ukraine President's Office confirmed the crash earlier this morning, noting: "An aircraft has just fallen on a social infrastructure facility.

The helicopter is believed to have crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building in Brovary, with pieces of debris hitting the nursery and injuring children.

Kyiv police confirmed: "In the city of Brovary, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building.

"At the time of the tragedy, children and employees of the institution were in the kindergarten."

The pixelated footage currently circulating on social media shows a large fire with multiple onlookers.

"At this point, everyone was evacuated," said Oleksiy Kuleba, head of Kyiv region.

"There are victims. Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the crash.”

This is a developing story.