The incident occurred on the same highway where a similar bombing took place in August A Russian military officer was killed on Thursday morning when a bomb planted beneath his car exploded in St. Petersburg. The blast in the Slavyanka residential neighborhood on the southern outskirts of the city was the second fatal car-bombing targeting Russian officers in three months. According to local news outlet Fontanka, the device was detonated remotely as the officer, described as a colonel in press reports, drove out of a courtyard and onto a highway. The victim, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, died at the scene. Russia's Investigative Committee, the country’s main criminal investigation agency, has launched a murder investigation, while authorities closed off part a highway where the explosion occurred. Second bombing since August On August 27, another Russian officer was killed in a car bombing on the same highway, while his wife was injured. The officer was identified in media reports as Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Sechkov, 43, who reportedly served in Russia's 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment. In 2022, Ukrainian military intelligence accused members of the same unit of carrying out strikes against civilians in northeastern Ukraine. Fontanka reported that a 24-year-old Russian woman suspected of planting the August bomb fled to Turkey and later to Moldova. The outlet also alleged Ukrainian military involvement but presented no evidence to substantiate the allegation. Ukraine has not confirmed any involvement in the August attack. No suspects or motives have been publicly identified in Thursday's bombing, nor did they establish a link between the two attacks.
The device reportedly was detonated remotely as the officer drove out of a courtyard and onto a highway (Telegram/Supernova+)