At least 16 people, including Ukrainian Interior Ministry officials and two children, died in a helicopter crash in the town of Brovary near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ihor Klymenko, the national police chief, said on Facebook. Twenty-two people, including 10 children, were taken to hospital with injuries after the aircraft fell near a kindergarten and a multi-floor apartment building.
(Bloomberg) — At least 16 people, including Ukrainian Interior Ministry officials and two children, died in a helicopter crash in the town of Brovary near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ihor Klymenko, the national police chief, said on Facebook. Twenty-two people, including 10 children, were taken to hospital with injuries after the aircraft fell near a kindergarten and a multi-floor apartment building.
Ukraine can now rely on three Patriot batteries that will significantly bolster air-defense, but the country is weighing steps to reinforce it further, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. He praised Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for pledging to provide Ukraine with another Patriot system, which can shoot down missiles.
“But this is only the beginning. We are working on new decisions to strengthen our air-defense,” Zelenskiy said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would back Ukraine — and coordinate decisions on delivering battle tanks with allies — but will ensure that a direct conflict between Russia and NATO is avoided. The German leader said in an interview on Tuesday with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait that he’s in talks with allies over potentially supplying heavy tanks to Ukraine, but said any announcements would have to come in lockstep with others.
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On the Ground
Russian troops are focusing their main efforts on the assault toward the eastern city of Bakhmut, while also conducting unsuccessful offensive operations on the Avdiyivka axis, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near nine settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and shot down a Russian Su-25 jet near Soledar, according to the General Staff’s statement. The Nikopol district in the central Dnipropetrovsk region was shelled again overnight, local authorities said on Telegram.
(All times CET)
Helicopter Crash Causes 16 Deaths in Kyiv Region (9:30 a.m.)
At least 16 people, including Ukrainian Interior Ministry officials and two children, died in a helicopter crash in the town of Brovary near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ihor Klymenko, the national police chief, said on Facebook.
The helicopter belonged to the Ukrainian Emergency Service and the officials were on board. The aircraft fell near a kindergarten and a multi-floor apartment building. Twenty-two people, including 10 children, were taken to hospitals with injuries.
Zelenskiy Promises Air-Defense Reinforcement (8:10 a.m.)
Ukraine is considering moves to strengthen its air-defense system, Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. Ukrainian officers will be trained to use a new Patriot missile defense system in 10 weeks instead of the period of at least 10 months that is usually required, Interfax-Ukraine reported late Tuesday, citing Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
Dutch Premier Rutte said the Netherlands plans to send a Patriot system to Ukraine, joining the US and Germany in bolstering the Ukrainian military arsenal with crucial air defense to fight Russia’s invasion.
Dutch Premier Pledges to Send Patriot Defense System to Ukraine
Blinken, Cleverly Vow to Provide Arms for Retaking Territory (12:20 a.m.)
The top US and UK diplomats pledged to give Ukraine the weapons it needs to recapture territory it lost after Russia invaded last February, with the goal of putting the country in the best possible position to negotiate once talks to end the war eventually begin.
With Western nations providing more powerful weapons such as tanks and other armored vehicles, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the allies would supply the Ukrainians with the equipment they require as battlefield conditions change.
“We are determined together as well as with many others to make sure the Ukrainians have the ability to regain what they’ve lost and deal with the Russian aggression,” Blinken said at a briefing alongside UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Blinken pointed to an upcoming meeting of allied defense officials in Germany as the moment when more commitments would be made.
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