Death of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs leadership: State Emergency Service official arrested

The court has ordered the detention of Ivan Korobka, head of the Main Aviation Coordination Centre of Search and Rescue of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, in the case concerning the helicopter crash in the town of Brovary in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine.

Source: Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne

Details: Korobka stated that he does not agree with the ruling of the judge. Defence lawyers are planning to submit an appeal.

Quote: "I am accused of baseless decision-making during the flight that resulted in the catastrophe. I do not agree with this. The crew was authorised to conduct flights under bad weather conditions and to transport the leadership. There is no such thing as bad weather; there are just conditions under which the crew must conduct flights. The weather was good."

More details: In addition, the court chose two months in custody without the right to bail for Andrii Dvornyk, the official of the State Emergency Service. He is suspected of violating traffic safety rules or operating air transport, which led to the deaths of people.

Two months of detention without bail were chosen for Oleh Ivanov, the official of the State Emergency Service. In comments to reporters, he said that he did not agree with the decision and would appeal. When asked why the flight was not cancelled, he replied: "This is beyond my competence". According to Ivanov, the decision on the flight had to be made by the minister.

Acting unit commander Volodymyr Leonov and his lawyer declined to comment on the court’s decision.

Update: The court ordered two months of round-the-clock house arrest with wearing an electronic bracelet to Yan Koshman, head of the flight safety service of the Special Aviation Squadron of the Operational Rescue Service of the Civil Protection of the State Emergency Service, with the exception of the need for medical care and a Russian air raid.

In addition, according to the Suspline, the court ordered him to hand over his Ukrainian and international passports for storage, and to report a change of residence. The court also forbade the suspect to visit the territory of the Special Aviation Squadron of the State Emergency Service and communicate with employees.

Background:

• On the morning of 18 January, a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, causing a fire to break out. 
• The helicopter crash killed the top leadership of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs: Denys Monastyrskyi, Minister of Internal Affairs; Yevhen Yenin, First Deputy Interior Minister; and Yurii Lubkovych, State Secretary of the Interior Ministry are among those killed. There were 14 victims in total, including a child.
• Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the President’s Office, has said that the helicopter crash in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, occurred during a flight by Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi to one of Ukraine’s hotspots where fighting is ongoing.

• The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has started an investigation into the helicopter crash in Brovary. Among the main avenues of investigation are the following: violation of flight rules, technical malfunction and intentional actions.

• The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) had served notices of suspicion on the five officials of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine whose actions caused the plane crash on 18 January 2023, which killed the top leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
• It was revealed that they violated flight safety rules for a helicopter carrying the top officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The aircraft crashed on 18 January 2023 in Brovary.
• The State Emergency Service of Ukraine suspended the officials served with a notice of suspicion in the case of the helicopter crash in the settlement of Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, which resulted in the deaths of the top leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

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