A tragic incident unfolded during a birthday celebration when a grenade, given as a gift, detonated, resulting in the death of Major Hennadiy Chastyakov, a close associate of Ukraine’s armed forces leader, Valery Zaluzhny. The unfortunate event occurred when Major Chastyakov, 39 years old, returned home and began unwrapping gifts with his son. It was at this moment that the grenade unexpectedly exploded, fatally injuring Major Chastyakov and causing severe injuries to his 13-year-old son. Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, revealed that the young boy accidentally tampered with the grenade’s ring. He further explained, “The serviceman then took the grenade from the child and pulled the ring, resulting in a tragic explosion.” However, subsequent investigations clarified that Major Chastyakov accidentally triggered the grenade while trying to remove it from his son. Authorities have classified the explosion as a “tragic accident” and urged the public to await the results of an official investigation.
The blast, which occurred at their family home on the outskirts of Kyiv in Chaiky, was caused by the careless handling of ammunition. Disturbingly, five additional grenades were found in the apartment. Minister Klymenko revealed that these extra grenades had been gifted by a colleague in the army, an army colonel.
A subsequent search of the colleague’s possessions led to the discovery of two similar grenades..
