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KYIV – A senior adviser to the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces was killed Monday when a birthday present exploded, the military leader announced.
In a message posted on Telegram, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny said his assistant, Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov, was killed under “tragic circumstances” while celebrating his birthday with relatives when “an unknown explosive device exploded in one of the gifts.” The National Police of Ukraine said his 13-year-old son was also seriously injured.
Chastiakov has been “a reliable shoulder for me” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zaluzhny wrote. “The reasons and circumstances [surrounding his death] will be determined during the pretrial investigation,” he wrote.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram on Monday that the initial investigation showed that Chastiakov “returned home with gifts from colleagues that he showed to his family.”
“He pulled out a gift box of grenades and began to demonstrate one of the ammunition to his son,” he said. His son began twisting one of the grenade rings. Chastiakov reportedly took back the ammunition and pulled the ring himself, Klymenko wrote.
Police found five more grenades of the same type in the apartment, Klymenko wrote, and identified the colleague who gave the gift. During a search of this soldier’s office, two similar grenades were discovered. “Urgent investigative measures are underway,” he said.
Earlier, Ukrainian news agency Ukrainska Pravda reported on Telegram that Chastiakov’s wife said the explosion was caused by a grenade that was in a gift bag he had brought home.
The outlet reported that the gift contained bottles of alcohol and grenade-shaped glasses and that the fatal explosion occurred when Chastiakov tried to open it. Photos accompanying the post show debris surrounding gift bags lined up on the floor next to a couch.
In one photo, several grenades or grenade-shaped objects appear to be scattered on the ground. Some on social media jumped to the conclusion that Chastiakov’s death was an assassination attempt rather than a mistake.
“I pray to God that this was a tragic accident and not a targeted attack,” wrote Dana Yarova, a member of the Defense Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Council.
On Facebook, MP Mariana Bezuhla wrote that “a detailed investigation should be carried out.”
“I never imagined that Hennadii would die on his birthday due to carelessness,” she wrote. “Grenades are issued, not given. Not kept at home.”
Many view Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Salushny as political rivals. In recent days, this alleged discord has 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 contradicted this assessment.
Zelensky’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the birthday incident.
Russian missile strike brigade in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, it says
Also on Monday, Ukraine opened a criminal investigation into the military leaders who organized a medal ceremony in the Zaporizhzhia region on Friday that was hit by a Russian missile attack. Nineteen soldiers from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade were killed, the Associated Press reported.
The troop honoring ceremony was held near the front lines to mark the Day of “Rocket Forces and Artillery,” Ukraine’s State Investigative Bureau said. The investigation was initiated under the Criminal Code because of “negligent attitude of a military official towards the service,” it said.
Zelensky said in his speech on Monday evening that the brigade commander had been temporarily suspended during the investigation.
“Every soldier in the combat zone … knows how to behave outdoors and ensure security,” Zelensky said in his Sunday address. “The investigation must determine how this tragedy occurred and whether improper orders were issued.”
Kamila Hrabchuk, Serhiy Morgunov, Kostiantyn Khudov, David Stern and Isabelle Khurshudyan contributed to this report.