Grenade birthday present kills senior Armed Forces official

One of the close associates of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major Gennady Chastyakov, was killed on Tuesday (6.11.2023) by an explosion caused when he tried to open a birthday present.

At this time it is not clear if Chastyakov received a “trapped” birthday present or if someone gave him a grenade and it went off in his hands due to mishandling. His 13-year-old son was seriously injured by the explosion.

“Today, my partner and close friend met a tragic death while celebrating his birthday with relatives,” announced General Valery Zaluzny, General Valery Zaluzny, in a post on the Telegram platform. According to him, the accident was caused by an explosion while opening presents for the major’s birthday.

Ukraine’s interior minister earlier described in a Telegram post how the fatal explosion happened. Major Chastyakov had just returned home with birthday presents from his colleagues, including a box of grenades which he wanted to show his 13-year-old son.

The child took a grenade and “began to twist the fibula,” wrote Ihor Klimenko. His father grabbed the grenade from the child’s hand and “the pin was pulled, causing the fatal explosion,” he wrote.

The explosion seriously injured the major’s 13-year-old son, who was taken to a hospital.

Ukraine’s interior minister said the soldier who gave the grenades to Major Chastyakov has been identified. He explained that he considered it appropriate to clarify the circumstances under which the tragic incident took place, although the investigation is ongoing, in order to avoid misinformation.

However, the new data points to a gift in disguise. They speculate that Chastyakov may not have known they were grenades or thought they were fake.

Reports say that Chastyakov had apparently brought the grenades home in a bag with a bottle of whiskey. A source told Ukrainska Pravda that the bottle was in a gift bag with glasses in the shape of a grenade, and the explosion occurred when he opened the bag. According to other reports his colleague had handed over the bottle saying: “It’s hard to surprise you: That’s why I give you combat grenades and a bottle of good whiskey.”