A tragic incident occurred when a grenade, given as a birthday gift, exploded and killed a close aide to Ukraine’s head of the armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny.
Major Hennadiy Chastyakov, aged 39, had returned home with presents from colleagues and was opening them with his son when the fatal explosion occurred. Major Chastyakov lost his life, and his 13-year-old son suffered serious injuries.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko explained that the boy had started to manipulate the grenade’s safety ring.Subsequently, the serviceman took the grenade from the child and pulled the ring, resulting in the tragic explosion.
The incident is being described as a “tragic accident,” and Minister Klymenko urged the public to await the official investigation’s outcome.
Police stated that the explosion was a result of the careless handling of ammunition in the family’s flat in Chaiky, on the western outskirts of Kyiv.
However, it was later revealed that five more grenades were found in the flat, all of which had been given as gifts by a colleague in the army. Two similar grenades were discovered on the said colleague, described as a colonel in the army.
Pictures from the scene showed grenades on the floor alongside other gift bags, and it was reported that Major Chastyakov had brought the grenades home in a bag with a bottle of whisky.
A source mentioned that the bottle was in a gift bag with grenade-shaped glasses, and the explosion occurred during the bag’s opening.
Reports suggested that the colleague had given the bottle, saying, “It’s hard to surprise you: That’s why I’m giving you combat grenades and a bottle of good whisky.”
General Zaluzhny expressed deep sorrow and the significant loss to the Ukrainian military, describing Major Chastyakov as a “reliable shoulder” since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
This incident adds to the recent setbacks faced by the Ukrainian military, including a missile strike that killed 19 soldiers during a Russian attack on an awards ceremony near the front lines in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
There was criticism about holding the ceremony in a dangerous area.
Pro-presidential MP Maryana Bezulha attributed Major Chastyakov’s death to negligence, emphasizing that grenades should be issued, not given as presents.
Nonetheless, the official cause of the explosion has been questioned by some Ukrainian commentators, who speculated whether it might have been an attack targeting General Zaluzhny himself, assuming he might have attended the birthday celebrations.
Recently, General Zaluzhny had given a candid assessment of the situation on Ukraine’s front lines against Russia’s invasion forces, stating that the conflict had reached a technological stalemate.
However, both the Kremlin and President Volodymr Zelensky denied that the war had reached a deadlock. Zelensky emphasized the importance of unity among Ukrainians and suggested postponing presidential elections, as Ukraine was under martial law due to the ongoing conflict. He was elected in 2019.
Source-BBC
