14 Dead After Kyiv Helicopter Crash: Days after a Russian anti-ship missile struck an apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine suffered a new tragedy on Wednesday when a helicopter carrying senior members of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry crashed in the Kyiv region.
14 people have been confirmed after the helicopter crashed near a residential building and kindergarten.
All nine people on board the helicopter died, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The crash, which occurred in the city of Brovary, also left 28 people injured according to the Ukrainian Minister of Health, with 15 people hospitalized including four children.
Among those who died inside of the helicopter was Interior Minister Denis Monastrysky, State Secretary Yuriy Lubkovychis, and First Deputy Minister Yevheniy Yenin.
See the Damage
Video footage allegedly filmed at the kindergarten in Brovary shows the scale of the damage done by the crash.
The interior of the building is covered in debris, and as the camera operator walks around the building, it’s obvious why so many people were injured or killed following the impact.
Photographs from outside of the kindergarten show neighboring residential buildings with window frames falling out and scorch marks on the walls.
Large sections of the residential block also appear to have fallen to the ground, with one large piece of the building having landed on the back of a now-destroyed vehicle.
Additional footage shared by The Kyiv Independent shows rescue workers operating cranes within the residential block impacted by the crash.
Why Did the Helicopter Crash?
Ukrainian authorities have not suggested there was Russian involvement with the crash and an investigation has since been launched, according to the Ukrainian Security Services (SBU).
In a Facebook post, the SBU also said that “several versions of the tragedy are being considered,” meaning it’s still possible that Russia was involved with the attack. In the post, the SBU said that investigators are considering the possibility that the crash was caused by a “violation of flight rule,” a “technical malfunction of the helicopter,” and by “deliberate actions to destroy the helicopter.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refrained from pointing the finger at Russia, however, and described the incident as a tragedy.
Speaking during a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy honored the victims of the crash and reiterated his call for the West to continue supplying advanced weapons to Ukraine.
CNN reported gray skies and low visibility in Ukraine on Wednesday, which could be one explanation for the crash.
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Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.