Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended a memorial service on January 21 for senior Ukrainian government officials killed earlier this week in a helicopter crash.
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy and 13 other people were killed when the emergency-services helicopter crashed into a kindergarten and the surrounding residential area of Brovary, near Kyiv, on January 18.
In addition to Monastyrskiy, his first deputy minister, Yevhen Yenin, and State Secretary Yuriy Lubkovych were also killed.
Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena Zelenska,paid their respects to the victims' relatives inside the Ukrainian House cultural center in Kyiv as mourners passed by their flag-draped caskets.
"The indescribable sadness is covering the soul," Zelenskiy said on Telegram on January 21.
Zelenskiy also spoke about the death of Monastyrskiy in his nightly video address.
"My condolences to all relatives and friends. It hurts to think about it, it hurts to talk about it," he said.
"We are losing people every day, whom we will always remember and regret we can't bring back," he added, saying "many bright people are taken by wartime."
Kyrylo Budanov, the military intelligence chief, described Monastyrskiy's death as "a huge loss."
If not for Monastyrskiy, everything could have been “completely different," he told Ukrainian media, referring to the resistance Ukraine mounted after Moscow launched its invasion on February 24.
"He is a true hero of this country."
The helicopter carrying Monastyrskiy and the other officials was en route to a location near the front line when it crashed in foggy conditions. A commission has been formed to investigate the cause of what officials called a tragedy brought about by Russia's invasion.
Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said on Facebook on January 21 that some of the injured have been transported out of the country for treatment.
Lyashko said six Ukrainians who suffered significant burns were taken to Austria, and one other patient will soon be transported to Switzerland.
