Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi attends a session of the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv, on December 28, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters
An assistant and friend of Ukraine’s top general was killed in an explosive incident.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said an explosive device hidden in a birthday gift killed Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov.
The commander-in-chief said Chastiakov’s death caused “unspeakable pain and heavy loss.”
The top Ukrainian general said on Monday that one of his aides was killed by an explosive device hidden inside a birthday gift.
In a Telegram message, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, said his assistant and close friend Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov was celebrating his birthday when an “unknown explosive device” detonated in one of his gifts. It was not immediately known where or when the incident took place, or who exactly was in attendance.
Zaluzhnyi said Chastiakov’s death caused “unspeakable pain” and is a “heavy loss” not only for himself but for the military as well. He said Chastiakov had been a “reliable shoulder” for the top general since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and that his death will be investigated.
Chastiakov’s wife said the item that exploded was a grenade inside a gift bag, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing an unnamed law enforcement source. The gift bag also contained a bottle of alcohol and shot glasses that looked like grenades, per the report. Chastiakov’s 13-year-old son was reportedly also taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
It’s unclear at this time if this was an accident or a deliberate assassination, but if it was the latter, it represents a hit that’s especially close to the upper echelons of Kyiv’s military leadership. Targeted killings and attempts on the lives of key figures have not been uncommon throughout the war. Many Russian officials have also been been killed or died suspiciously over the past 20 months.
