The ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine was searched in connection with the helicopter crash

The former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Arsen Avakov, was searched as part of the investigation into the helicopter crash in Brovary on January 18. Then 14 people died, including the entire leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the head of the department, Denys Monastyrsky.

According to Avakov, employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Bureau of Investigation came to him. They were interested in six-year-old documentation about purchases of French Airbus helicopters during his tenure as minister.

Avakov noted that the investigators formally worked out the version and found nothing. The former minister clarified that the contracts for the purchase of helicopters were approved by the Government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada.

The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs flew on a French-made Super Puma helicopter.

The Security Service of Ukraine considers three main versions of what happened – violation of flight rules, technical malfunction and deliberate actions to destroy the vehicle.

Kyiv and Paris agreed on the purchase of French helicopters for Ukraine in 2018. As part of the contract, it received several Super Puma helicopters for the needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Committee on Emergency Situations from the French concern Airbus.

The mass media wrote that the contract was signed for the purchase of both new and used helicopters – after Norway refused them. There, one of the purchased Super Pumas crashed into a drilling rig in the North Sea during the flight, killing 13 people.

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