Ex-minister Kutovy killed in helicopter crash

"Taras Kutovy has died. I can't believe it. In despair. Condolences to loved ones. RIP," he wrote.

An advisor to the interior minister, Mykhailo Apostol, confirmed that Kutovy had been killed in a helicopter crash.

"On October 21, at 16:00, in the village of Tarasenkove in Orzhytsia district, a helicopter fell on the territory of a private household. The pilot was killed in the crash. The deceased pilot was Kutovy, born in 1976," he wrote on Facebook.

Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk extended his condolences over the death of the former minister.

"I have just learned about the horrific tragedy that claimed the life of Taras Kutovy. Sincere condolences to Taras' family and loved ones. Eternal memory!" he wrote on his Twitter account.

Kutovy served as Ukraine's minister for agrarian policy and food from 2016 to 2018. Prior to his appointment, he was a people's deputy of Ukraine of the seventh and eighth convocations and was a member of the parliamentary committee on agrarian policy.

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