Gennadiy Chastiakov
Officials claimed a grenade among his birthday gifts burst on Monday, killing a close adviser to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief.
“Under tragic circumstances, Major Gennadiy Chastiakov, my assistant and close friend, was killed… on his birthday”, General Valery Zaluzhny stated on Telegram, adding that an unknown explosive device detonated in one of his gifts.
Chastiakov was displaying his son a box of grenades that he had received as a gift, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko stated in a Telegram statement.
“At first, the son seized the munition and started turning the ring. The serviceman then removed the grenade from the youngster and pulled the ring, resulting in a catastrophic explosion”, Klymenko continued.
According to him, police have identified a fellow soldier who gave the lethal gift and seized two similar grenades.
An investigation is now underway.
Chastiakov leaves behind a wife and four children.
He went on to say that Chastiakov had been fully devoting his life to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the fight against Russian aggression since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Attacks against Ukrainian officials have been relatively infrequent since Moscow’s invasion, but Russia has blamed Ukraine for multiple attacks on nationalists.
Vladlen Tatarsky, a 40-year-old pro-Kremlin military blogger, was killed in April by a blast from an explosive-rigged figurine.
The Kremlin claimed that the attack was planned by Ukraine with the assistance of supporters of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
However, observers believe the bombing incident might be used to justify more repression of dissenters.
Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultranationalist thinker, was killed last August in a car explosion outside Moscow that Russia blamed on Ukraine.
Kyiv has disputed the allegations.
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