LIVE. War in Ukraine: at least 18 killed in helicopter crash, Zelensky laments “terrible tragedy”

Moscow police arrested 4 people near a memorial for the victims of the bombing of a building in Dnipro, Ukraine, which killed at least 45 people, according to a specialized NGO. “Police arrested two people laying flowers, the other two were just nearby,” said the NGO OVD-Info. In recent days, anonymous people have placed flowers and photos of destroyed buildings at the foot of a statue of Ukrainian poet Lessia Oukrainka in Moscow, setting up a makeshift memorial to the victims of the Dnipro.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Telegram as a “terrible tragedy”. “The pain is unspeakable. The helicopter crashed near the kindergarten. I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine, in collaboration with the national police, to explain what happened,” he commented, sending his “condolences to all the families and friends of the victims”. “May they rest in peace!” May all those whose lives were taken this morning this dark rest in peace!”, he continued.

Rescue operations are still underway at the helicopter crash site, the governor of the Kyiv region Oleksyi Kuleba said on Telegram. “Debris analysis is ongoing. The children are elsewhere and the state of the disaster is currently being investigated,” he said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, who died in a helicopter crash, was initially on his way to the front, the Ukrainian presidency said. “The purpose of this flight (to go) to one of the hot spots in our country where fighting is taking place. The interior minister is on his way there,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential cabinet, told Ukrainian television.

The accident occurred in Brovary, a city of about 100,000 people bordering Kyiv’s eastern suburbs. Significant fighting was fought between the Ukrainians and the Russians there as troops from Moscow tried to force a lock on the capital in the first weeks of their invasion. At the time of the tragedy, “children and employees” from a kindergarten located near the crash site were at the scene, said the governor of the region, Oleksiï Kouleba.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Chmyhal, reacts after the announcement of the death of one of his ministers in a helicopter crash. “At least 18 people died as a result of this accident. Among them, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky, his first deputy Yevgeny Ienin and State Secretary of the Ministry Yuriy Lubkovych”, he complained, referring to the “huge loss to the government team and the whole country”. on Telegram.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas offered condolences after the announcement of the helicopter crash in Brovary, near Kyiv, which killed at least 18 people including Ukraine’s Interior Minister. “This is another tragic reminder of the terrible price Ukraine paid to maintain its independence from Russia,” he tweeted.

The governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba, has now indicated that three children died in a helicopter crash in Brovary. “The number of victims is increasing. By 10:30 am – 18 dead, including three children. Some 29 people are known to have been injured, including 15 children. All necessary assistance was provided to the victims. All emergency services are on site,” he said on Telegram.

The helicopter that crashed in Brovary, near Kyiv, killed “at least 17 people”, including two children, said the head of the Kyiv regional military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, on Telegram. “Rescue operations continue at the site (…). There are twenty-two people in the hospital, ten of whom are children,” he added.

According to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, the helicopter that crashed belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency services, information that has not been officially confirmed at this time.

File looks sensitive. Germany has found itself a new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, a seasoned regional politician who is making his government debut in a highly publicized position as the country is under pressure to provide Ukraine with more heavy weapons and tanks. A key meeting of Western defense ministers, across the United States, will be held Friday in Germany.

Finland in turn said it was ready to support Ukraine “as long as necessary”. “I think the only message we need to send is that we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. One year, two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years,” said Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin at the Davos Economic Forum. By 2022, the Finnish government has spent 300 million euros to support Ukraine, including around 190 million euros for defense equipment.

The Netherlands in turn wants to help Ukraine militarily. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his “intention” to help Kyiv equip itself with Patriot air defense systems during a visit to Washington. “We intend to partner with what you did with Germany on the Patriot project,” he said during an interview with US President Joe Biden, indicating that he had also exchanged views with Chancellor Olaf Scholz “this morning” on the matter.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday in The Hague, seat of the International Criminal Court (ICC), also called for a “new format” of the court to “bring Russian leaders to justice”.

They numbered in the hundreds Tuesday in Dnipro to pay their last respects to Mykhaylo Korenovsky, a Ukrainian boxing trainer who was killed Saturday in his building destroyed by a Russian missile. “I will remember him as an open and honest person, always ready to help,” testified Artem Birioukov, one of his students, during the farewell ceremony. Many bouquets lay there, including blue and yellow wreaths, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

“The enemy is concentrating its efforts mainly on offensive operations in Bakhmout. The offensive of the occupying forces on Avdiivka was unsuccessful,” the Ukrainian general staff said late on Tuesday, reporting heavy Russian bombardment of the Donetsk region. “That’s Verdun over there,” said Ivan, a Ukrainian military paramedic, referring to the horrific First World War battles between the French and Germans in eastern France.

British Foreign Secretary James shrewdly justified sending tanks to Ukraine to help it ‘push’ Russia in the east and south of the country, while the US hinted that new US military aid was in sight. “The message we are sending (to Russian President Vladimir) Putin (…) is that we are committed to defending Ukraine until they win,” he said on a trip to Washington speaking of a “moral imperative”.

Welcome to the live broadcast of the war in Ukraine and its consequences.