Ukraine’s interior minister is among at least 18 top officials and civilians dead in a helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were among the dead, according to Ukrainian National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko.
It’s not clear if the chopper was brought down by enemy fire or if it crashed on its own. No fighting has been reported recently in the area, however. Nine of the dead were on board the aircraft, while the other nine were on the ground, according to officials. An investigation is underway.