Media: Explosion that killed Zaluzhnyi aide likely an accident

November 7, 2023 2:17 pm

• 1 min read

Media: Explosion that killed Zaluzhnyi aide likely an accident — General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as seen in his office in the building of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 28, 2023. (Oksana Parafeniuk/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The grenade explosion that killed Major Hennadii Chastiakov, an assistant of Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was likely the result of careless handling of ammunition, Interior Ministry spokesperson Mariana Reva told RFE/RL's Ukrainian service on Nov. 7.

An unnamed man had confessed to giving Chastiakov the grenade but also said that he had warned him that it was live. Chastiakov likely disregarded the warning, Reva said, and the grenade exploded. She added that the investigation was still ongoing.

Previously, it was reported on Nov. 6 that Chastiakov had been killed on his birthday by an explosive in one of his gifts at his home in Chaiky, Kyiv Oblast. His thirteen-year-old son was seriously injured in the explosion and is undergoing medical treatment.

"From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Hennadii was a reliable shoulder for me, completely devoting his life to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the fight against Russian aggression," Zaluzhnyi said in a public message.

The officer is survived by his wife and four children.

Nate Ostiller

News Editor

Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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