Tearful Zelenskiy honours top Ukrainian officials killed in helicopter crash

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and first lady Olena Zelenska offer their condolences as they attend a memorial ceremony for Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and officials who died in the helicopter crash near Kyiv, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

KYIV (Reuters) -A tearful Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended a memorial service on Saturday to commemorate seven senior officials killed in a helicopter crash, a fresh blow to a nation already grieving its many war dead.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and five other high-ranking ministry officials were killed on Wednesday when their French-made Super Puma helicopter plummeted amid fog into a nursery near Kyiv.