Poland sends Ukraine condolences after helicopter crash kills 18 including interior minister

Ukraine's interior minister was among at least 18 people killed on Wednesday when a helicopter crashed in a suburb of the capital Kyiv, setting fire to a nursery packed with children.

According to the latest official toll, nine people on board and at least seven on the ground were killed when the French-made Super Puma helicopter went down in Brovary on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv.

At least three children were among the dead. Dozens of other people were hurt, including many children, many suffering burns. The entire side of the nursery building was charred.

"We saw wounded people, we saw children. There was a lot of fog here, everything was strewn all around. We could hear screams, we ran towards them," Glib, a 17-year-old local resident, told Reuters at the scene.

"We took the children and passed them over the fence, away from the nursery as it was on fire, especially the second floor," he said.

Debris was scattered over a muddy playground. In a courtyard lay several dead interior ministry staff, their blue uniforms and black boots visible from under foil blankets draped over the bodies. A large chunk of the aircraft had landed on a car, destroying it.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called said the full casualty toll was still being determined and he had ordered an investigation into the "terrible tragedy".

"The pain is unspeakable," he said in a statement.

National police chief Ihor Klymenko confirmed that Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi was killed alongside his first deputy, Yevheniy Yenin, state secretary Yuri Lubkovich, and other ministry officials flying in the helicopter operated by the state emergency service.

Officials said it was too early to determine what caused the crash. None immediately spoke of an attack by Russia, which invaded Ukraine last February.

The SBU State Security Service said it would consider several possible causes, including a breach of flight rules, a technical malfunction or intentional destruction.

"Unfortunately, the sky does not forgive mistakes, as pilots say, but it's really too early to talk about the causes," air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said, adding it could take at least several weeks to investigate.

International dignitaries sent condolences and paid tribute to Monastyrskyi, 42, a lawyer and lawmaker appointed in 2021 to run the ministry responsible for the police. He was the most senior Ukrainian official to die since the war began.

"It is with deep sadness that I received information about the helicopter crash in Brovary near Kyiv which left several persons killed, including senior officials of Ukraine's Ministry of Interior," Poland's President Andrzej Duda said in a tweet.

"My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims," Duda added.

Poland's Interior Minister said he was "deeply shocked" with the death of his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Monastyrskyi and two of his ministry directorship associates. "I'm sending my sincerest sympathies to the families of the deceased and to all people of Ukraine. Goodbye Friends," he added.

Monastyrskiy and Yenin had recently visited Poland. On December 28, they met with Kamiński and his deputy Bartosz Grodecki in Warsaw. The following day they met with Polish firefighters.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke with reporters on Wednesday morning in Davos. "We have sent Ukraine's government our deepest sympathies. We still don't know if this was an assassination or a tragic accident," he said.

"This only demostrates just how dangerous the situation in Ukraine still is. However, here in Poland we understand that perfectly. But some here in Davos are already tired with this situation. That concerns me because so much depends on the free world's support for Ukraine," the prime minister added.

"I was shocked and saddened to learn about today's helicopter crash in Brovary," Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said on Twitter. "This devastating tragedy has taken many lives, including the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. At this time of sorrow, my thoughts are with the families of the victims," he added.

Poland's National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera also sent his condolences to the families of the victims of crash. "Tragic news arrived this morning about the tragic death of Ukraine's Interior Ministry chief Denys Monastyrskiy and his close associates. Thanks to them the state was able to function despite the war, protecting human lives," Siewiera wrote o Twitter.

Chief of Poland's State Fire Service Andrzej Bartkowiak and Chief of Police Jarosław Szymczyk joined in with their condolences.

"A very sad news came to us from Ukraine. A helicopter crash killed 16 people, including our friends from Ukraine's Interior Ministry, minister Denys Monastyrskiy and deputy minister Yevhen Yenin. With deep regret, on behalf of Polish firefighting brotherhood, I offer condolences and sympathies to the whole Ukrainian nation," he said on Twitter.

"Commander-in-Chief of Police - personally and on behalf of directorship of Polish police, police officers, and civil servants - sends our Ukrainian brothers sincerest condolences due to today's helicopter crash near Kyiv, which killed 16 people, including Ukraine's interior ministry directorship," Polish Police said in a tweet.