A heart-wrenching incident unfolded in Ukraine when a seemingly innocent birthday gift, a grenade, turned into a deadly tragedy.
Major Hennadiy Chastyakov, a close associate of Ukraine's Armed Forces head, Valery Zaluzhny, lost his life in a sudden and shocking explosion.
The incident transpired as Major Chastyakov was unwrapping presents with his son in the comfort of their apartment, leaving the 39-year-old officer dead and his 13-year-old son gravely injured.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko clarified that the unfortunate incident occurred when the young boy started fiddling with the grenade's safety mechanism.
In a heroic attempt to protect his son, Major Chastyakov tried to take the grenade away, unwittingly triggering the fatal explosion. Subsequent investigations revealed that the blast took place while he was trying to disarm the grenade from his son's possession.
The incident is being termed a "tragic accident," with the minister urging the public to await the official investigation results.
Law enforcement agencies have attributed the explosion in their family flat, located on the western outskirts of Kyiv in Chaiky, to the "improper handling of munitions."
A disturbing revelation came to light as five more grenades were discovered in the apartment. Minister Klymenko disclosed that these grenades were gifted by a fellow army colleague.
Additionally, two more grenades were found in the possession of this colleague, described as a colonel in the army.
Photographs from the scene showed more grenades strewn across the apartment floor, alongside other gift bags.
It appears that Major Chastyakov had brought these grenades home in a bag that also contained a bottle of whisky.
According to sources, the bottle of whisky was part of a gift bag with glasses designed in the shape of grenades, and the explosion occurred during the unwrapping of this bag.
Some reports suggest that the colleague humorously presented the bottle, saying, "It's hard to surprise you: That's why I'm gifting you combat grenades along with a bottle of fine whisky."
General Zaluzhny, the head of Ukraine's Armed Forces, expressed his profound grief and sense of loss for the Ukrainian military and himself personally.
He described Major Chastyakov as a "steadfast companion" since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
This tragic incident compounds a series of setbacks for the Ukrainian military, occurring shortly after a missile strike claimed the lives of 19 soldiers during a Russian attack at an awards ceremony near the front line in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
This event sparked significant criticism regarding the decision to hold the ceremony in a high-risk area.
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