Ukraine's interior affairs minister and 15 others were killed after a helicopter crashed in an eastern suburb of the capital Kyiv. The helicopter crashed near a kindergarten-- two children are among the dead. 22 others are being treated in the hospital for injuries.
The minister, Denys Monastyrsky, was with eight others in the helicopter. The helicopter came down in the suburb of Brovary, BBC reported. His deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were among those killed, according to Ihor Klymenko, chief of Ukraine's National Police, PTI reported.
The cause of the crash isn't known yet. There is no immediate comment from Russia either.
Monastyrsky, the minister responsible for the police and security inside Ukraine is the first senior Ukrainian minister to die since the war began in February 2022.
"There were children and...staff in the nursery at the time of this tragedy. Everyone has now been evacuated. There are casualties," Kyiv region governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram.
It was dark and foggy at the time of the crash. Children and staff at the kindergarten were evacuated. Emergency services-- medics and police are working at the scene.
-- This is a developing story
