Ukraine helicopter crash 'tragic consequence of Russian aggression' – Lithuanian president

  • 2023-01-18
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed his condolences to Ukraine over a helicopter crash near Kyiv that killed the country's interior minister and more than a dozen other people, describing the accident as "another tragic consequence of Russian aggression against Ukraine". 

"Devastating news about the helicopter crash at Brovary. My condolences to the families of the victims, President @ZelenskyyUa and the people of Ukraine," Nauseda tweeted. 

"Lithuania is mourning with Ukrainians. This incident is another tragic consequence of Russian aggression against Ukraine," he wrote.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, First Deputy Minister Yevgeny Yenin and State Secretary Yuri Lubkovich were killed when emergency services' helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building in Brovary, a town in the region of Kyiv. 

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite also offered their condolences. 

"My deepest condolences to the families of Denys Monastyrsky and the other innocent victims of yet another tragedy in Ukraine," Lithuania's top diplomat tweeted. 

Bilotaite said she was "shocked by this tragic event".

"My sincere condolences to the families of the late Ukrainian interior minister and his team members, and to the system of internal affairs and the people of Ukraine," the minister said in a press release.

"I will personally remember the minister as a patriot and fighter dedicated to his country, who made every effort to fight back Russia's military aggression in Ukraine," she added. 

Bilotaite said she had had contacts with Monastyrsky on several occasions while providing and coordinating humanitarian and other assistance to Ukraine. 

Last May, the Lithuanian interior minister and her Latvian, Estonian and Polish counterparts visited Kiev, where they signed a joint declaration condemning Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, and agreed to mobilize their efforts in support of Ukraine's development and reconstruction.

A total of 18 people, including three children, were killed in the accident in Brovary and 29 others, including 15 children, were hospitalized.