General Valery Zaluzhny, second from the right in the photo. — © via REUTERS
A close adviser to General Valery Zaluzhny, the commander of the Ukrainian army, was killed in the explosion of an item sent to him for his birthday. Zaluzhny said this on Telegram.
Source: BELGA
Today at 03:01
“Today, under tragic circumstances, on his birthday, my assistant and close friend, Major Hennady Chastyakov, died in the family circle,” Zaluzhny said. “An unknown explosive went off in one of the gifts.”
According to the commander, Chastyakov’s death is “a heavy loss for the Ukrainian armed forces and for me personally.” The deceased major had devoted his life completely to the armed forces of Ukraine and “the fight against Russian aggression.” General Zaluzhny announced that the causes and circumstances were being investigated.
Son injured
The police stated in a statement that Major Hennady Chastyakov had been killed by a grenade. His thirteen-year-old son was seriously injured.
According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Chastyakov had gone home with birthday gifts from his colleagues. “He opened a gift box containing grenades and showed one of them to his son,” he said on Telegram. The son allegedly grabbed the grenade and started turning the pin. “The soldier then took the grenade away from the child and pulled the ring, causing a tragic explosion,” the minister said.
Police found five more similar grenades in the apartment. The officers also searched the office of the soldier who gave the grenades as a gift and seized two more grenades, Klymenko said. An investigation has been launched into the accident.
Since the start of the war in February last year, attacks on Ukrainian leaders have been quite rare. Several attacks have already been carried out against various Russian occupiers and pro-Russian fighters.
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