January 18, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukraine's National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko will serve as acting interior minister until a new permanent head of the ministry is appointed, according to a statement from the Ukrainian prime minister on Wednesday. 

Earlier on Wednesday, a helicopter crash near a kindergarten in the Kyiv region killed Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky and the leadership team of Ukraine’s interior ministry who were traveling on the aircraft, according to officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez were among a number of international leaders to offer condolences following the fatal helicopter crash in Brovary on Wednesday.

“Saddened by the tragic death of the Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky. Thoughts for all the victims of this terrible event that occurred near a kindergarten, for the children and the families,” tweeted Macron.

“France offers its condolences to its Ukrainian friends,” he added.

Scholz also tweeted:

“The helicopter crash in #Brovary shows once again the immense toll #Ukraine is paying in this war. Our thoughts on this sad day are with the families of the victims and the injured, as well as with @ZelenskyyUa who lost his Interior Minister today.”

Sánchez said that that he was "shocked by the accident."

“My condolences to the families, to President @ZelenskyyUa and to the Ukrainian people. All our support," he added.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the crash was a "tragedy" and offered her "heartfelt condolences."

"We are mourning with you," she added.

Other international figures also reacted to news of the crash: 

UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly:

“Tragic news of the helicopter crash in Ukraine this morning, which took the lives of Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyy, members of his team and civilians. Denys was a true friend of the UK. We are ready to support Ukraine in whatever way we can.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda:

“It is with deep sadness that I received information about the helicopter crash in Brovary near Kyiv which left several persons killed, including senior officials of Ukraine's Ministry of Interior. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims.”

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda:

“Devastating news about the helicopter crash at Brovary. My condolences to the families of the victims, President @ZelenskyyUa and the people of Ukraine. Lithuania is mourning with Ukrainians. This incident is another tragic consequence of Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

Four people have been detained by police after laying flowers at a makeshift memorial in central Moscow for the victims of the strike in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the independent Russian human rights monitor OVD-Info said Tuesday. 

The monument to the Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka had turned into "a spontaneous memorial in memory of the victims of the missile strike in Dnipro," OVD-Info said. 

The watchdog group said the names of the four detained people were not known as of Tuesday. 

They were taken to the Dorogomilovo police station in Moscow, according to OVD-Info. A lawyer from OVD-Info, Anastasia Kostova, went to the police station to help them, the group said. 

CNN has not been able to verify this information independently. 

At least 45 people died when a Russian missile struck an apartment block in Dnipro on Saturday, one of the deadliest single attacks of the war.

The Ukrainian National Police have released the names of the three other interior ministry officials who died in a helicopter crash near a kindergarten in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary Wednesday.

Here are all the interior ministry officials killed in the crash:

In total, six ministry officials died, along with three helicopter crew.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that military-industrial workers might be exempt from the upcoming spring draft during his visit to the Obukhov plant in St. Petersburg.

“As for conscripts who are called up for military service: Considering that the defense industry is currently overwhelmed, and taking into account the fact that you work in three shifts, and the products of defense industry enterprises are in high demand, now we are looking at the possibility of granting a deferment to those who should be called up for military service," he told the factory workers Wednesday.

"I think this issue will be resolved soon,” he added.

Some background: Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced Tuesday that Putin had made a decision to increase the strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 1.5 million servicemen.

“Conceptually, Putin agreed” with the suggestions that were announced by the country's defense ministry but details of the expansion are yet to be finalized, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. This comes after Russia conducted a partial mobilization of its citizens in September, recruiting 300,000 personnel had been met, according to officials.

At the Obukhov plant, Putin also expressed confidence that Russian victory in the war is "inevitable" and "guaranteed," saying that the unity of Russians and the heroism of soldiers on the front line will make victory possible.

The Ukrainian Security Services have “launched a pre-trial investigation" of the helicopter crash in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary that killed at least 17 people, including Ukraine's interior minister.

The service said on Facebook that “several versions of the tragedy are being considered,” including “violation of flight rule, technical malfunction of the helicopter, deliberate actions to destroy the helicopter.”

There has been no suggestion from any other Ukrainian officials about Russian involvement in this crash. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky called the crash a “tragedy.”

The State Emergency Services of Ukraine now say that 17 people, including four children, died in the Brovary helicopter crash.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky was among those killed in the helicopter crash near a kindergarten in the Kyiv suburb.

Additionally, 25 people, including 11 children, are hospitalized.

The United States has transferred American munitions stored in Israel for use in Ukraine and plans to send more soon, US and Israeli officials told CNN Wednesday.

A US official told CNN they have moved "some" of the 300,000 155-millimeter shells that the US and Israel agreed would be transferred, and that there are plans to move the remaining amount in the coming weeks.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Richard Hecht told CNN that the Americans notified the Israelis a while ago they were transferring munitions. Hecht said the munitions are US-owned, that their movements are "American business" and that they don’t need Israeli permission to move the munitions.

The New York Times first reported the American military is tapping into its munitions stockpile stored in Israel for use in Ukraine, noting Israeli officials had initially expressed "concerns about appearing complicit in arming Ukraine."

Read the full story here.

Wednesday's helicopter crash counted Ukraine's interior minister and several members of his leadership team among its victims, thought to be the most senior government officials to have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.

Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, his first deputy Yevheniy Yenin, the ministry's state secretary Yuriy Lubkovychis, the helicopter crew and several ministerial assistants were killed in the crash in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary.

Monastyrsky, 42, was a lawyer by training. According to a biography published on the ministry's website, he spent some years teaching law and management at a university in his home town of Khmelnytskyi, before deciding to turn "from theory to practice" and become involved in politics.

He worked on reforming Ukrainian law enforcement following the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, rose through the ranks and was appointed interior minister in July 2021.

Last year, Monastyrsky accompanied a CNN crew on a visit to abandoned Russian military positions in Chernobyl.

Yenin, also 42, served as Ukraine's deputy prosecutor general and deputy minister of foreign affairs before becoming Monastyrsky's first deputy in September 2021, according to the ministry's website.

Lubkovychis was 33 and, like the other two men, was also appointed to the ministry in 2021.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement that Monastyrsky, Yenin and Lubkovychis were "true patriots of Ukraine."