January 18, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Kathryn Snowdon, Jack Guy, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt and Leinz Vales, CNN

Updated 12:25 a.m. ET, January 19, 2023
18 Posts
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9:10 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Zelensky calls Brovary crash a "terrible tragedy"

From CNN's Victoria Butneko in Kyiv

Workers pass the helicopter crash site in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18.
Workers pass the helicopter crash site in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18. (Daniel Cole/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Wednesday's helicopter crash in Brovary "a terrible tragedy."

Zelensky confirmed that interior minister Denis Monastyrsky, first deputy minister Yevheniy Yenin and state secretary Yuriy Lubkovychis all died in the crash in a statement published Wednesday.

He said he has ordered the Ukrainian security services to "find out all the circumstances" of the incident.

The Interior Ministry officials were "true patriots of Ukraine," he said.

"May they rest in peace! May all those whose lives were taken this black morning rest in peace," he added. 

Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska called it a "horrible day" for the country.

“In helicopter crash we lost the Interior Minister and his colleagues – but the biggest tragedy is a death of children. They have faith that we, as adults, are able to protect them. My thoughts are with the victims’ families. Wish the injured speedy recovery,” she tweeted.

CNN's Alex Hardie contributed reporting to this post.

5:02 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Ukrainian minister killed in helicopter crash was "a great friend of the EU," says council president

From CNN’s Alex Hardie in London

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, who died in the Brovary helicopter crash, was "a great friend of the EU," said Charles Michel, president of the European Council.

Michel said the European Union joins Ukraine "in grief following the tragic helicopter accident in Brovary" in a tweet Wednesday.

"Minister Denys Monastyrsky was a great friend of the EU. We share our deepest condolences with the families of the victims, President @ZelenskyyUa, PM @Denys_Shmyhal and the people of #Ukraine," Michel’s tweet said.

5:09 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

At least nine victims of Brovary helicopter crash were locals "bringing their children to the kindergarten"

From CNN’s Brent Swails and Maria Kostenko

Covered bodies on the ground at the scene where a helicopter crashed in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18.
Covered bodies on the ground at the scene where a helicopter crashed in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18. (Daniel Cole/AP)

Nine of the 18 victims of the Brovary helicopter crash identified so far were locals "bringing their children to the kindergarten," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration.

All nine people on board the helicopter died in the crash, and officials put the number of total victims at 18 in their latest update.

However, that number may rise, according to Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv region military administration.

"There is currently no information on the number of missing children," Kuleba told reporters at the scene of the crash.

"Identification is ongoing. Parents are coming, lists are being compiled."

4:30 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

US president and German chancellor discuss military aid for Ukraine ahead of talks in Germany this week

From CNN's Claudia Otto and Nadine Schmidt in Berlin

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke on the phone Tuesday night, with the conversation focusing on support for Ukraine, according to Germany's chancellery.

Both leaders agreed that their support ''must be effective, sustained and closely coordinated,'' said Steffen Hebestreit, government spokesman for Scholz, in a statement.

At the beginning of January, Washington and Berlin jointly agreed to send infantry fighting vehicles to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Biden announced that the US intended to supply Ukraine with another round of security assistance, including Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

Scholz said that Germany would provide Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles and an additional Patriot air defense battery.

On Thursday, the United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and newly appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius are set to meet in Berlin ahead of a key meeting with the Ukraine contact group at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday.

The meeting in Ramstein, hosted by Austin, will focus on more military aid for Ukraine. 

4:22 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

At least 18 dead and 29 injured in Brovary helicopter crash, police say

From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv

The site where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18.
The site where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

The death toll in the helicopter crash in Brovary has risen to 18, according to the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.

Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram that three of those killed where children following the crash near a kindergarten and a residential building in the Kyiv suburb. Kuleba added that 29 people are injured, including 15 children.

Among the dead is Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky and the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's leadership team.

Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, posted on social media that Monastyrsky, deputy minister Yevheniy Yenin and secretary of state Yuriy Lubkovychis died in the crash.

Gerashchenko said: "We will always remember you. Your families will be cared for. Eternal memory to my friends."

Debris from the helicopter crash in Brovary, Ukraine, on January 18.
Debris from the helicopter crash in Brovary, Ukraine, on January 18. (Brent Swails/CNN)

The helicopter that crashed was a Eurocopter EC225 "Super Puma," a CNN producer on the ground has confirmed after seeing remnants of flight manuals among the debris.

6:30 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Ukrainian interior minister Denis Monastyrsky killed in helicopter crash, police say

From CNN's Sebastian Shukla and Maria Kostenko

Minister of Internal Affairs, Denis Monastyrsky decorates a serviceman with the Medal of Defender of the Fatherland at Michailovskyi Square in front of Saint Michail Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 14.
Minister of Internal Affairs, Denis Monastyrsky decorates a serviceman with the Medal of Defender of the Fatherland at Michailovskyi Square in front of Saint Michail Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 14. (Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky is among three senior officials killed in the Brovary helicopter crash, Ukrainian National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said.

“The crash killed the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - the Minister, the First Deputy Minister and the State Secretary,” Klymenko said.

At least 16 people died in the crash, nine of whom were aboard the helicopter when it went down near a kindergarten and residential building in the Kyiv region, Klymenko said earlier.

3:34 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

At least 16 killed in helicopter crash in Kyiv region, Ukrainian police say

From CNN's Maria Kosetenko in Kyiv

Medics and emergency personnel work at the site a where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18.
Medics and emergency personnel work at the site a where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

At least 16 people have been killed after a helicopter crashed in a Kyiv suburb on Wednesday, Ukrainian police said.

National Police chief Ihor Klymenko said nine of the dead had been onboard the aircraft, which crashed near a kindergarten and residential building in the eastern suburb of Brovary.

Two of those killed were children, he said.

Another 22 people are in hospital, including 10 children, he added.

3:05 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Number of victims "increasing" after helicopter crash, Ukrainian official says

From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv

A unspecified number of casualties have been reported after a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in a Kyiv suburb on Wednesday, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, said in a social media post that “the number of reports of victims in Brovary is increasing.”

The head of the Kyiv regional military administration said earlier that there were a number of injured people, without providing further details.

3:34 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Helicopter crashes near kindergarten and residential building in Kyiv region

The site where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18.
The site where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 18. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

A helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Brovary in the Kyiv region on Wednesday, according to Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv regional military administration. 

"At the time of the tragedy, there were children and the staff in the kindergarten. At the moment, everyone was evacuated," he wrote on Telegram. 

Kuleba said there are injured people, but did not give further details on how many or the degree of injuries. 

Paramedics, the police and firefighters are responding at the scene, he added. 

This post has been updated with additional information.