Ukrainian army major killed in birthday gift explosion

A Ukrainian major who was a close adviser to the country's commander-in-chief has died after one of his birthday presents blew up.

Major Gennadiy Chastiakov, 39, was initially believed to have been killed by a "booby-trapped gift", Sky News reported. The Telegraph speculated that his death in a "likely assassination" represented "a rare success for possible Russian special forces or spies operating behind enemy lines".

But a statement issued by Ukraine's Interior Ministry said the "tragic explosion" was an accident. Chastiakov had apparently "returned home with birthday gifts from colleagues, including a box of Western-manufactured grenades that he was showing to his son", reported Reuters.

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Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine's interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said he had taken the unusual step of issuing the statement so as not to "spread unofficial information". Ukrainian media reported that Chastiakov's 13-year-old son was seriously injured in the blast.

Attacks targeting Ukrainian leaders have been "relatively rare" since Russian forces invaded the neighbouring state in February 2022, said the South China Morning Post, but there have been "several attacks on nationalists which Russia has blamed on Ukraine".

Chastiakov was an assistant to Ukraine's military commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhnyi, who sparked controversy at the weekend when he admitted the much-hyped counter-offensive against Russian forces in the east of Ukraine had stalled.

"Just like in the First World War, we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate," he told The Economist.

Hopes had been high that the Russians could be driven back, but five months in, and despite heavy backing from the West, Ukrainian forces have advanced only 10 miles.

With international attention currently dominated by the war in Gaza, some European leaders are said to be "tired" of the conflict, with "growing resistance in Washington to providing more support", said The Telegraph.