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Four troops killed in Ukraine helicopter crash
KIEV, May 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An army helicopter has crashed in western
Ukraine killing four servicemen, the military said on Thursday.
The Mi-8 helicopter crashed in the western Rivne region during a training
flight late Wednesday, killing three crew members and the commander of the
16th Separate Army Aviation Brigade of Ground Forces, a statement said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences and
tasked newly-appointed general staff chief Ruslan Khomchak with overseeing
the investigation.
“Our army should not be losing people during games and drills,” the 41-
year-old president was quoted as saying by his office.
Zelensky, a former comedian, swept last month’s presidential election in a
rebuke to the establishment fuelled by popular anger over war with Russian-
backed separatists and social injustice.
The conflict against Russia-backed insurgents in the east has claimed some
13,000 lives since 2014.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1325 hrs