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Zaluzhny says his aide was killed by explosive device hidden in birthday gift

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the man was his "reliable shoulder"

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny said on Monday that his aide Gennady Chastyakov died in an explosion of unidentified device hidden in a birthday present.

"Inexplicable pain and a heavy loss for the armed forces and for me personally. My aide and close friend Major Gennady Chastyakov died under tragic circumstances today, on his birthday, in the bosom of the family. An unidentified explosive device went off in one of the gifts," Zaluzhny wrote on his Telegram channel.

He offered his condolences to Chastyakov’s wife and his four children, saying that the man was his "reliable shoulder."

The country’s interior ministry said that the man had died as a result of mishandling munitions.

The Ukrainskaya Pravda media outlet gave details of the incident. It cited Chastyakov’s widow who said he had brought home a gift bag with a bottle with alcohol and grenade-shaped wine glasses. The blast occurred when he was unwrapping the gift.

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