Grenade sent as birthday gift kills aide of Ukraine’s commander-in-chief
Global News
Major Gennady Chastyakov died in an explosion inside his home while opening birthday gifts with his son.
A close aide to the head of Ukraine’s armed forces died in a freak accident involving hand grenades gifted to him for his birthday, authorities say.
Major Gennady Chastyakov, 39, who was the assistant to Valery Zaluzhny, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, died Monday in his home while opening birthday gifts with his son.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine’s central region is investigating the incident. In a statement, authorities wrote that Chastyakov had returned home with birthday gifts given to him by colleagues, which included six “Western”-style grenades.
Chastyakov’s son allegedly picked up one of the grenades. When Chastyakov went to take it from him, the major pulled out the pin of the grenade, setting off an explosion.
Chastyakov “died on the spot,” prosecutors write, and his 13-year-old son “was hospitalized with serious injuries.”
The Major’s 11-year-old daughter also suffered minor injuries in the blast.
According to Maryana Reva, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, authorities know the identity of the man who likely gifted the grenades to the major, though his name has not been released. She claims that Chastyakov probably did not know the grenades were real.
“The person who probably gave these gifts confessed,” Reva said on national TV. “He warned that the grenades were live. The deceased probably did not believe this information.”
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