A Russian military colonel was killed on Thursday morning when an explosive device detonated beneath his car in the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg.
The blast occurred at approximately 7:00 a.m. local time on the Kolpinskoye Highway as the officer was driving away from his residence in the Slavyanka neighborhood, according to local media reports. Footage from a residential building’s intercom security camera captured the moment of the explosion and was subsequently circulated on Russian social media.
A vehicle exploded in Russia's St Petersburg. By preliminary reports, a military pilot was inside and was killed. A Russian TV channel claims it was the chief navigator of the 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army of the Russian Federation. This unit has carried out multiple… pic.twitter.com/tuqox05Qes
Investigation into the St. Petersburg explosion
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a murder investigation into the death. “All the circumstances of the incident are being clarified.” The committee confirmed that a serviceman had been killed in the explosion in the Pushkinsky district but has not disclosed his rank or identity.
Russian media outlet Fontanka reported that the officer was alone in the vehicle at the time of the blast. Initial reports from the scene suggested a family member had been in the car and was injured, but Fontanka later clarified that CCTV footage showed the colonel leaving home alone and that the passenger seat was empty.
A car explosion on Kolpino Highway in St. Petersburg reportedly killed Colonel Dmitry Lobodin, chief navigator of the 6th Air and Air Defence Army. He directly participated in russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. War has consequences. https://t.co/glqXDqud35 pic.twitter.com/ewbpHj0YNW
The device, which had been attached to the underside of the car, was detonated remotely as the officer drove out of a residential courtyard. He died at the scene.
Pattern of attacks on military personnel
This incident is the second fatal car bombing targeting a military officer in the Slavyanka neighborhood in less than three months. On August 27, 2026, a car carrying a Russian military officer and his wife exploded on the same highway. The officer, identified as Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Sechkov, 43, from Russia’s Aerospace Forces, was killed, while his wife sustained serious injuries and was taken to intensive care.
⚡️❗️BREAKING: A Russian Air Force colonel has been killed in a car bombing in St. Petersburg. The vehicle exploded on Kolpinskoye Highway this morning, killing the officer pic.twitter.com/9Ec7mpAZyc
His father confirmed his death to journalists. The Russian Investigative Committee later confirmed that a serviceman had been killed and that the injured woman was his wife.
These events follow a series of similar attacks on high-ranking Russian military figures since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On August 1, 2025, an explosion at Moscow’s Balzi Rossi restaurant in one of Stalin’s “Seven Sisters” skyscrapers, on Barrikadnaya Street, killed five people and injured at least 19.
The intended target may have been Russian Aerospace Forces Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sergey Sokolov, though Russian authorities have not provided definitive information about his condition.
In May 2022, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) had accused the regiment to which Sechkov belonged of carrying out missile and bomb strikes against civilian targets in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions on the Slobozhansky axis.
⚡️ BREAKING: A Russian colonel died after his car exploded in Saint Petersburg. Authorities stated that forensic experts and investigators are examining the scene to establish all circumstances of the incident. pic.twitter.com/izp3GqAOjT
No one has claimed responsibility for the car bombing, and Kyiv has not commented on the blast. Ukrainian intelligence services neither denied nor confirmed their involvement in the incident.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday that it had arrested four individuals, including a foreign national, suspected of gathering intelligence on participants in the war on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence services with the aim of committing acts of terrorism and sabotage, though authorities have not publicly established a direct link between these arrests and the St. Petersburg blast.
❗️Footage from the scene of a car explosion on Kolpinskoye Highway in 🇷🇺St. Petersburg. The deceased is believed to be a colonel of the Russian Aerospace Forces https://t.co/B2W9i24FM8 pic.twitter.com/ch470CRBq3
On November 12, 2026, a Russian colonel was killed when an explosive device detonated under his car in St. Petersburg. No one has claimed the strike.
An apparent car bomb assassination has killed a Russian military officer in St. Petersburg, according to Russia's Investigative Committee and local reports. Some reports suggest it may have been a colonel, but no confirmation yet; identity unknown. Ukraine's spy agencies have…
More on St. Petersburg
Car bomb kills Russian army colonel in St. Petersburg According to preliminary reports, the victim was a military pilot. He was alone in the car at the time of the explosion. Media reports say an explosive device was attached underneath the vehicle and remotely detonated as the… pic.twitter.com/xM8zaFSaNl
🔴 A remotely detonated explosive device killed a Russian soldier in a car explosion in St. Petersburg’s Shushary district, according to Russian media. Preliminarily identified as a colonel, the driver was reportedly alone inside the vehicle at the time of the blast. pic.twitter.com/NEOjI2fCM0
