Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky dies in fiery helicopter crash near Kyiv nursery

A high-ranking Ukrainian official and his team have perished in a shocking helicopter crash that claimed the lives of 18 people.

A Ukrainian minister is among 18 dead after a helicopter crashed near a nursery in Kyiv.

Minister of Interior affairs Denys Monastyrskiy, his first deputy Yevgeniy Yenin, and state secretary all died in the crash on Wednesday morning.

Four children were among the death toll, with another 15 injured,

Videos show a large fire near the daycare centre in Brovary as rescuers battled to free people.

The Ukraine President’s Office confirmed the crash in a statement published early on Wednesday local time.

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A soldier stands at the site where a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside the capital Kyiv, killing 18 people, including two children and Ukrainian interior minister, on January 18, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky was among 18 people, including two children, killed when a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside the capital Kyiv Ukrainian officials announced on January 18, 2023. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

“An aircraft has just fallen on a social infrastructure facility,” the statement read.

“We are finding out information about the victims and the circumstances.

“The State Emergency Service and all services are already in place.”

It is still unknown what caused the crash.

A helicopter has crashed near a kindergarten & residential block east of Kyiv in Brovary, say officials. Police are reporting casualties. pic.twitter.com/OsCxZBxlMZ

— James Waterhouse (@JamWaterhouse) January 18, 2023

Monastyrsky, 42, a trained lawyer, had served as Ukraine’s interior minister from July, 2021.He was a key member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party and was married with two children.

“My colleagues, my friends. What a tragic loss. Deepest condolences to their families,” said Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser.

Aviation accidents are fairly common in Ukraine, where the use of ageing and sometimes Soviet-era infrastructure is still common.In one of the deadliest recent incidents, 26 people, most of them air cadets, were killed when their Antonov-26 plane crashed near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in September, 2020.

The town of Brovary is located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Kyiv and was among urban hubs around the capital that Russian troops had tried to capture after invading Ukraine last year.

Regions around the capital are no longer the scene of fierce fighting after Russian forces were pushed back, but a series of Russian missile strikes have disrupted power supplies across the country, including in the Kyiv region.