The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Igor Klymenko, has announced that Major Gennadiy Chastyakov, the assistant to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, received a gift containing grenades from a colleague. Klymenko made this statement on his Telegram channel.
“After initial investigation measures, we have managed to establish the first circumstances of the tragedy. Major Chastyakov, who tragically passed away, was celebrating his birthday. He returned home from work with gifts from colleagues, which he began to show to his family,” said Klymenko.
According to him, Chastyakov took out a gift box that contained “new Western-style” grenades and started demonstrating one of these ammunition to his son. As the minister pointed out, the son first took the grenade and started spinning the pin. Then Chastyakov took the explosive and pulled the pin, “triggering a tragic explosion,” claims Klymenko.
He also revealed that five more unexploded grenades were found in the apartment. The ammunition will be sent for examination.
As the minister stated, the police have identified the military officer who gave such a gift to Zaluzhnyy’s assistant.
“In his office, we have already conducted a search and seized two more similar grenades. The initial investigation measures are ongoing,” Klymenko added.
Earlier, it was reported that the person who handed the explosive device to Zaluzhnyy’s assistant was the senior assistant to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, A.V. Timchenko.
Previously, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported that Gennadiy Chastyakov died from a grenade explosion at his home near Kyiv.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Zaluzhnyy, also confirmed the death of his assistant as a result of an explosion caused by an unknown device hidden in a birthday gift.
Earlier, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) had mentioned the emergence of panic among the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
