Russian Military Officer Killed in Car Bombing in St Petersburg, Investigators Say

A Russian military serviceman was killed on Thursday when the car he was driving was detonated in the Pushkinsky District of St Petersburg, according to Russia's Investigative Committee. The agency said it had opened a criminal case into what it described as the murder of a member of the armed forces.

Video footage from the scene showed military police sealing off the area while investigators and forensic specialists examined the site. A dark blue SUV bearing blast damage, with its doors, boot and bonnet open, stood on a road scattered with debris, next to what appeared to be an empty passenger bus that had also been damaged.

The serviceman was not immediately identified. The online newspaper Fontanka reported that the deceased held the rank of colonel, a detail Reuters said it could not independently verify.

No group or country had immediately claimed responsibility, and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Moscow has previously blamed Kyiv for assassinations targeting senior military officials and figures linked to Russia's war effort, while Ukrainian sources have claimed responsibility in some cases and denied involvement in others.

The incident follows a similar attack in the same district of Russia's second-largest city on August 27, when another serviceman was killed in a car explosion. Other vehicle bombings have been reported in Moscow and in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, in recent months.

Authorities have not disclosed further details about the investigation, and the circumstances surrounding the blast remain under review.