THE aide to Ukraine's top commander blew himself up after pulling the pin of a grenade given to him as a birthday gift.
Major Hennady Chastyakov, 39, also critically wounded his 13-year-old son after mistaking the real grenades for souvenir whisky glasses.
Ukraine’s top war commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has since spoken of his “unspeakable pain” following the death of his close aide.
General Zaluzhnyi told how an “unknown explosive device went off in one of the gifts”.
Initially there were fears of a Russian assassination at Chastyakov's home in Chaiki village near Kyiv.
In fact, in a catastrophic blunder a military colleague had gifted the major a birthday present of Johnnie Walker Black Label Whisky – and six grenades.
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"It's hard to surprise you, so I'm giving you combat grenades and a bottle of good whisky,” said Colonel Alexander Timchenko, another key member of the Ukrainian high command.
According to the major’s widow, Chastyakov took it as a “joke” that these were live combat grenades.
One account stated: “He picked up his children from school and began to sort through the gifts with them.
“He thought that the box did not contain live grenades, but rather [whisky] glasses [shaped like grenades].”
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Reports say these were Western grenades supplied to Ukraine.
"First, the son took the grenade in his hands and began to twist the ring,” said Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
“Then the serviceman took the grenade from the child and pulled the ring, triggering a tragic explosion.”
Five more grenades were found at the scene.
Klymenko described the explosion as an “accident”.
Zaluzhnyi, 50, called the needless death a “heavy loss for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for me personally”.
It remains unclear as to whether Timchenko will face prosecution.
Two more unexploded grenades were found in his office, showing the type to be German-made HGR Splitter DM51A2.
“From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Hennady was a reliable shoulder for me, completely devoting his life to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the fight against Russian aggression,” said Zaluzhnyi.
“The reasons and circumstances will be established during the pre-trial investigation. Eternal memory!”
A security source told Ukrainska Pravda that Chastyakov was a graduate of a military academy and fully trained in handling grenades.
As a result, several reports have expressed surprise that Chastyakov could have mistaken real grenades for souvenir whisky glasses.
And suspicions remain over whether Chastyakov's death was just a fluke.
Especially after Ukraine conducted their own assassination attempt on a Russian general in September.
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Yuri Afanasevskii, 64, was seriously wounded after being given an "exploding phone" by Ukraine's secret service.
It left him injured in hospital alongside his son following the explosion at his house in Luhansk.
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