Death of Zaluzhnyi's aide most likely an accident - source

The death of Hennadii Chastiakov, an aide to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was most likely the result of an accident.

A source in the law enforcement agencies told this to Ukrinform.

"This is a tragic accident with a probability of 99.9%. He was presented with combat grenades for his birthday, and one of them detonated due to careless handling," the source said.

According to the source, the investigation is ongoing, but at this time, there is no reason to talk about either an assassination attempt or a Russian trace.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesperson Mariana Reva said in a comment to Ukrinform that the police were documenting the case.

"Accordingly, criminal proceedings have been launched due to

the death of a person and careless handling of ammunition," Reva said.

She added that the deceased's wife and daughter were also in the apartment at the time of the tragedy, and they did not sustain serious injuries. According to Reva, the 13-year-old son of the deceased is under the supervision of doctors and is receiving all the necessary assistance.

Earlier reports that a Ukrainian serviceman was killed and his 13-year-old son was seriously injured in a grenade explosion in the village of Chaiky outside Kyiv.

Zaluzhnyi confirmed the death of his assistant. He said Chastiakov was celebrating his birthday, and an unknown explosive device went off in a gift bag.