An aide to the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces was killed on Monday when a birthday present exploded.
General Valery Zaluzhny published a message on Telegram in which he said that his assistant, Major Hennadiy Chastiakov, had died under “tragic circumstances” while celebrating his birthday with relatives when “an unknown explosive device went off in one of the presents”. His 13-year-old son was also seriously injured, the National Police of Ukraine reported. Zaluzhny wrote:
The reasons and circumstances [surrounding his death] will be established during the pre-trial investigation.
Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko wrote in Telegram that, according to preliminary data, Chastiakov “returned home from work with gifts from colleagues, which he began showing to his family.” He said:
He took out a gift box with grenades inside and began demonstrating one of the munitions to his son. His son began twisting one of the grenade rings. Chastiakov reportedly took the munition back and pulled the ring himself.
Klymenko said that five more grenades of the same type were found in the flat and a fellow serviceman who made the gift was identified. During the search in the office of this serviceman, two similar grenades were found. He said:
Urgent investigative actions are ongoing.
Ukrainian media published information that according to Chastiakov’s wife, the explosion was caused by a grenade in a gift bag he brought home.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, the explosion occurred when Chastiakov tried to open a package with alcohol and glasses shaped like grenades. The photos accompanying the report show debris from the gift bags laid out on the floor next to the sofa.
In one of the photos, several grenades or grenade-shaped items are scattered on the floor. On social media, some rushed to conclude that Chastiakov’s death was not a mistake, but a murder. One user wrote on Zaluzhny’s Facebook post announcing the death:
I hope the traitor will be found.
Dana Yarova, member of the Defence Ministry’s anti-corruption council, wrote:
I pray to God that this was a tragic coincidence and not a targeted attack.
On Facebook, politician Mariana Bezuhla wrote that “a detailed investigation should be conducted.” She noted:
I would never have thought that Hennadii would die as a result of carelessness on his birthday. Grenades are issued, not given. Not kept at home.
Chastiakov had left a wife and four children. Chastyakov was a graduate of a military academy and fully trained in handling grenades. He was an assistant to top military commander Valeriy Zaluzhny, who holds a high profile in the more than 20-month-old war in Ukraine.
Mr Zaluzhny confirmed the death of his assistant and “close friend” in his family circle. He said he is facing “unspeakable pain”.
Also on Monday, Kyiv launched a criminal investigation into the military leaders who organised the medal ceremony that was hit by a Russian missile strike in the Zaporizhzhia region on Friday. The missile strike killed 19 servicemen of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade. A criminal case has been opened over the incident under the article “negligent attitude of a serviceman to service”. According to the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine, the ceremony honouring the servicemen was held near the front line in honour of the Day of Rocket Troops and Artillery.
Zelensky said in his evening address on Monday that the brigade commander had been suspended from his post during the investigation. He said:
Every soldier in the combat zone … knows how to behave in the open, how to ensure safety. The investigation must find how this tragedy occurred and whether any improper orders were issued.
Many see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Zaluzhny as political rivals. In recent days, these supposed differences have received more attention after Zaluzhny wrote in an essay for the Economist that both Russia and Ukraine had reached a “stalemate” in the war and that new technologies were needed to ensure progress. Zelensky publicly criticised this view. Zelensky’s office made no comment on the birthday incident.
