Birthday Gift from a Colleague Turned Out to Be a Bomb... Death of Ukrainian Army Chief of Staff Advisor

Commander-in-Chief "A Very Tragic Incident"

A staff officer of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces died when a gift exploded while celebrating his birthday with his family.

On the 6th (local time), Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated on Telegram, "My assistant and close friend, Major Henadi Chastiakou, died surrounded by his family," calling it "a very tragic event." According to him, one of the gifts Major Chastiakou received on his birthday triggered an unknown explosive device.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi (third from left), Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, is taking a photo with soldiers at the Independence Day event held on August 24 at St. Sophia Square in Kyiv.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Commander Zaluzhnyi mourned, "Henadi, who dedicated his life to the military and fought against Russia's aggression, was someone I could rely on from the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion."

According to foreign media, the explosion at Major Chastiakou's home was caused by a box containing six grenades that he had brought home. He reportedly thought the items in the box were gifts and proudly showed them off, but the grenades detonated, causing the explosion. It is also reported that Major Chastiakou's 13-year-old son was seriously injured in the blast.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, "Initial investigations indicate that Major Chastiakou brought a gift he received from colleagues at work back home," adding, "Major Chastiakou took out a gift box containing grenade-shaped glasses and showed it to his son. His son began to pull the grenade pins, and Major Chastiakou took them back and pulled the pins himself, according to the investigation."

In connection with this, local police have identified and begun investigating a colleague, Mr. A, who gave the gift. However, it has not yet been revealed why Mr. A gave such a dangerous explosive as a gift.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.