Minister killed in dire chopper crash
Ukraine’s interior minister was among more than a dozen people killed in a helicopter crash outside Kyiv, with allies promising in Davos they are set to provide “heavier weapons” amid reports of a planned new Russian offensive.
Ukraine did not claim direct Russian involvement, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said the tragedy was a consequence of the war.
“There are no accidents at war. These are all war results,” Mr Zelensky said in English, appearing by video link at the Davos Forum.
The helicopter carrying Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky slammed down next to a kindergarten and a residential building in Brovary, a commuter town for the capital Kyiv that was the scene of fierce fighting with Russian forces last year.
Fourteen people were killed, including Mr Monastyrsky, other ministry officials and a child, Mr Zelensky said in his evening address to the nation. Another 25 people were wounded, including 11 children.
Dmytro Serbyn, who was in his apartment when the helicopter crashed, rushed to help children as soon as he saw flames billowing over the kindergarten.
“They were looking for their parents, children were crying … their faces were cut and covered in blood,” Mr Serbyn said.
“We pulled out one girl. I wrapped her in a jacket, her face was wounded … She did not tremble, did not cry.”
The child, Polina, was so badly injured that her father did not immediately recognise her, Mr Serbyn said.
The crash came on the same day that Mr Zelensky renewed calls for modern, Western-designed heavy tanks, which analysts say are crucial to push through entrenched defensive lines in eastern Ukraine.
In a barely veiled reference to Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz is weighing up whether to green light the export of its highly regarded Leopard tanks, Mr Zelensky issued a “call for speed”.
“The time the Free World uses to think is used by the terrorist state to kill,” he told delegates in Davos.
The statement came after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would provide “more advanced support, heavier weapons, and more modern weapons, because this is a fight for our values”.
Meanwhile, in Washington, US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Colin Kahl said the US was not “there yet,” on providing advanced Abrams tanks to Ukraine, although he did not completely close the door on a shift in the future.
The preparations come as Moscow reportedly gears up for a shock new offensive that could see 700,000 soldiers pour into Ukraine.
Ukraine has been warning that Vladimir Putin’s forces will prepare for renewed attack in 2023, The Sun reports.
Despite major losses, the Russian army is understood to be more than 1 million strong and another 2m reservists could be called up.
Russian outlet Volya Media has reported that Russia could be gearing up for a new offensive involving up to 700,000 soldiers.
The outlet – which cites sources within the Russian military – claims that the new attack would focus on Lutsk and Lviv in western Ukraine.