Firefighters work near the site where a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary, outside the capital Kyiv, killing Sixteen people, including two children and Ukrainian interior minister, on January 18, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky / AFP)
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Wednesday's helicopter crash in a town outside Kyiv was a "terrible tragedy" that caused "unspeakable" pain.
He confirmed at least 15 people had been killed, including three children and the country's interior minister, when the helicopter crashed on the territory of a kindergarten in the town of Brovary, causing a fire to break out at the site.
Local officials had earlier put the death toll at 18. Zelenskiy said the exact number of victims was being established.
"I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police of Ukraine and other authorised bodies, to find out all the circumstances of what happened," he said on the Telegram messaging app.
"As of this minute, 3 children died. The pain is unspeakable," he wrote, offering his condolences to the victims' friends and families.
