The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has reported suspicion to an officer from the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who had presented grenades to Hennadiy Chastiakov.

"It was established that the officer purchased eight hand-held universal offensive-defensive grenades DM 51A2 without appropriate permission and brought them to his office. Subsequently, he packed six of them in a gift wooden box and put a bottle of strong alcohol there. He gave this box to serviceman Hennadiy Chastiakov on the occasion of his birthday. By these actions, the officer actually sold explosive devices. He continued to store two more grenades in the closet of his office, where they were seized by law enforcement officers," the SBI said on the Telegram channel on Thursday.

According to the SBI, the officer was informed of suspicion of acquiring, storing, carrying and selling explosive devices without the permission provided for by law (Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

As reported, on November 6, 2023, while unpacking the gift, a grenade exploded, resulting in the death of the assistant to the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU. The next day, the Prosecutor General's Office assigned jurisdiction in this criminal proceeding to the State Bureau of Investigation. The pre-trial investigation is underway, employees of the SBI are establishing all the facts related to the tragic event and have not yet rejected any of the versions, the message notes.

The SBI did not name the suspect in the Telegram message. Earlier it was reported, citing a law enforcement source, that the grenades presented to Chastiakov were part of a gift set from his colleague, Colonel Tymchenko. According to the source, Tymchenko has already testified that he himself decided to make such a gift and put a bottle of Black Label whiskey and 6 grenades in the wooden box.