Stoltenberg: Helicopter crash near Kyiv a ‘tragedy'

The helicopter crash that took place on Jan. 18 near Kyiv, which killed 14 people, including a child, was a "new tragedy" for a country that has already suffered due to Russia's full-scale war, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

The helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary on the morning of Jan. 18. The top leadership of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his first deputy, Yevhen Yenin, and the ministry’s secretary, Yuriy Lubkovych, died in the crash.

The State Emergency Service said that 14 people died, including one child.

In an interview with CNN at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stoltenberg also said that allies need to step up support to Ukraine.

“If we want peace … then we need to provide military support to Ukraine,” the NATO chief said.

When asked about providing Ukraine with German-made Leopard tanks — which require Berlin’s approval before exporting from Poland or Finland — Stoltenberg said that they are in “constant dialogue.”

He added that Germany has already provided aid to Kyiv but admitted the need for NATO members to provide “more sophisticated weaponry.”

Germany has been reluctant about providing German-built Leopard 2 modern tanks despite repeated calls from Kyiv.

On Jan. 11, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Poland planned to supply a company of modern German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. But since these tanks are produced in Germany, sending them to Ukraine requires approval from the German government.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Jan. 16 that “there is no reason to block support for Kyiv and delay it indefinitely,” urging the German government to provide Ukraine with “all types of weapons.”

Bloomberg reported on Jan. 13, citing two unnamed officials familiar with the matter, that Germany will likely make a decision on whether to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine ahead of the Rammstein summit, which is scheduled for Jan. 20.