USA TODAY International Edition
Helicopter crashes into kindergarten
Ukraine senior official, child among 14 killed
A helicopter crashed into a kindergarten in a Kyiv suburb Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, including a top government official and a child on the ground, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said 25 people were injured, including 11 children.
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, who oversaw Ukraine’s police and emergency services, appears to be the most senior Ukrainian official killed since the start of the war in Ukraine. Two of his top deputies, their assistants and the helicopter crew were among the dead, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Nine of those killed were aboard the chopper when it crashed in Brovary, an eastern suburb of the Ukrainian capital. Other victims were on the ground.
“Unspeakable pain,” Zelenskyy said. “Bright memory to everyone whose life was taken by this black morning.”
Zelenskyy said the national police and security services were working to determine the cause of the crash. There was no initial information indicating the helicopter, which was flying in foggy conditions, was shot down. Images posted on social media from near the scene appear to suggest it crashed close to a residential building after striking the kindergarten.
President Joe Biden issued a statement Wednesday saying, “We grieve with all those who are mourning this heartbreaking tragedy.”
At the World Economic Forum session in Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska fought back tears, and forum President Borge Brende of Norway requested 15 seconds of silence after opening the session to honor the victims.
Other developments:
● The Pentagon has designated stockpiles of its artillery shells in Israel to supply Ukrainian forces engaged in heavy combat with Russia in the Donbas region, a U. S. official confirmed Wednesday to USA TODAY. The two sides have been firing thousands of shells a day at each other, a pace that has forced the U. S. and its allies to scour the world for ammunition to feed Ukrainian guns.
● Rolling blackouts are underway in eight regions – among them Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia – as Russian missile attacks cripple Ukraine’s electricity generation, which covers only about 75% of demand, according to power system operator Ukrenergo.