Russian military serviceman killed in St Petersburg car blast

What the report says

A Russian military serviceman was killed and his wife injured when their car exploded in the Pushkinsky suburb of St Petersburg, according to Russian authorities cited by Al Jazeera. The incident occurred on Thursday morning, with witnesses saying the blast happened around 10am local time and destroyed the vehicle. Russia’s Investigative Committee said investigators and forensic experts were examining the scene and had opened a criminal inquiry, though it initially described the incident as a car fire rather than confirming an explosive device.

Al Jazeera reported that the man was not publicly identified by investigators, but Russian media outlet Fontanka said he was a 53-year-old lieutenant colonel and a high-ranking officer who died almost immediately after the vehicle started. A Ukrainian outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, said he served in Russia’s Air Force and air and missile defence units, though those details were not confirmed by Russian officials in the article.

The killing comes amid a wider pattern of attacks on Russian military personnel and other figures linked to the war in Ukraine. Al Jazeera said Moscow has accused Kyiv of assassination attempts in some previous cases, while Ukraine has denied involvement or not commented. No group claimed responsibility for this blast, and Ukraine had not commented at the time of publication.