A Russian serviceman was killed on Thursday when an explosive device attached to his car detonated in St Petersburg, prompting Russia's Investigative Committee to open a murder inquiry. The blast occurred in the Pushkinsky district, in the settlement of Shushary on Kolpinskoye Highway, according to Russian media reports.
The Investigative Committee said in a statement that the cause of the explosion had not yet been established, but that a murder investigation had been launched. Forensic experts and operational officers are examining the scene, and a number of tests have been ordered, the committee said on Telegram.
Russian media identified the victim as a colonel and chief navigator of the 6th Air and Air Defence Army. He was alone in the car when the device, attached to the underside, was detonated remotely as he was leaving a courtyard. The moment was captured by an intercom camera.
A pattern of targeted killings
The killing is the latest in a series of attacks on Russian military personnel since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than four years ago. While Kyiv rarely claims responsibility for such operations, Ukrainian forces have used similar tactics—booby-trapped cars, explosives hidden in scooters, and shootings—to demonstrate that Russia's security services are vulnerable.
In August 2026, a lieutenant colonel from the same air and air defence forces was killed in a blast in the Slavyanka district of Shushary, which also wounded his wife. A 24-year-old Russian woman who had left for Turkey was suspected of planting that bomb, though authorities did not officially confirm details. The victim was reportedly 43-year-old Sergei Sechkov, who served in the 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment. His father confirmed his death to the independent outlet Agentstvo.
The highest-ranking officer targeted was Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, killed in Moscow in December 2024. Ukraine explicitly claimed responsibility, accusing him of ordering chemical weapons use against Ukrainian troops. President Vladimir Putin called the incident a serious failure of Russia's security services.
Other attacks include the April 2025 killing of Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalyk in Balashikha, the December 2025 assassination of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov near the Kremlin, and a shooting in February 2026 that targeted Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Russian General Staff. In April, a battalion commander was killed by a device planted in a post box at a military garrison in the Khabarovsk region.
The latest incident underscores the persistent threat to Russian military personnel even in major cities, and the difficulty Moscow faces in protecting its officers. It also highlights the ongoing covert conflict that extends far beyond the front lines in Ukraine.
For more on the broader context of the war, see hacked data on Russian war deaths and Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid.
