Ukraine’s interior minister, 15 others die in helicopter crash

“In total, 16 people are currently known to have died,” the head of national police, Igor Klymenko, said. Among the dead are several top officials of the interior ministry including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, he said.

In a video that circulated online from the aftermath of the incident, cries could be heard at the scene which was consumed by fire.

“In the city of Brovary, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building,” the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said on Telegram.

“At the time of the tragedy, children and employees were in the kindergarten,” he added.

He said that medics and police were working at the scene.

The town of Brovary is located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Kyiv.

Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of Brovary in the early stages of Moscow’s invasion until Russia’s troops withdrew in early April.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to pro-Western Ukraine on February 24 last year.