A senior Russian military officer was killed when an explosive device detonated under his vehicle in a southern suburb of St. Petersburg, investigators said Thursday.
The explosion occurred at around 7:00 a.m. local time in the city’s Pushkinsky district, according to law enforcement and media reports.
The victim was a colonel serving in the Russian Aerospace Forces’ 6th Guards Air and Air Defense Forces Army, according to sources cited by the local broadcaster 78.ru. His name was not disclosed.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top investigative body, confirmed that it launched a criminal case into an unidentified soldier’s death by a car bomb.
“All the circumstances of the incident are being established,” it said in a statement.
An explosive device attached to the officer’s car detonated after he drove around 300 meters (984 feet) from his apartment building, reported 78.ru and Fontanka, a St. Petersburg news outlet.
The Shushary neighborhood, where the incident occurred, is the same location another Russian military official was killed in a car explosion in August.
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out several assassinations of military officers since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian sources have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks while denying involvement in others.
Reuters contributed reporting.
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