Russian Air Force Colonel Killed in St. Petersburg Car Bombing, Second Similar Attack in Three Months

A Russian colonel was killed Thursday morning when a bomb planted beneath his car exploded as he drove out of a residential courtyard in Shushary, a suburb of St. Petersburg, in the second nearly identical attack on a senior Russian military officer in the area in less than three months. ⠀ The explosion occurred around 7 a.m. on November 12 along Kolpinskoye Highway in the Slavyanka neighborhood, according to Russian news outlet Fontanka. The explosive device was reportedly attached to the underside of the vehicle and detonated remotely as the officer began driving. ⠀ The colonel died at the scene. Surveillance footage captured the moment of the explosion, and investigators cordoned off the area while emergency services responded. Authorities temporarily closed part of Kolpinskoye Highway. ⠀ Russian broadcaster 78.ru identified the victim’s position as chief navigator of the 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army, a major Russian military formation. His name has not been officially released. ⠀ Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that a serviceman had been killed in a vehicle explosion and opened a criminal investigation. Investigators are examining the scene and working to establish who planted the device. ⠀ The bombing closely resembles an attack on August 27 in the same neighborhood, when Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Sechkov, an officer serving in a helicopter regiment of the 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army, was killed by an explosive device placed beneath his car. His wife survived but was injured. ⠀ Both explosions reportedly involved remotely detonated devices targeting military officers near their homes. No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, and Russian authorities have not publicly identified a suspect.