A Russian military colonel was killed Thursday after an explosive device detonated beneath his vehicle in the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg, marking the second nearly identical bombing targeting a senior Russian military officer in the same area in less than three months.

The explosion occurred at around 7 a.m. local time in the Slavyanka neighborhood of Shushary, in St. Petersburg's Pushkinsky district, as the officer was driving out of a residential courtyard, according to Russian media reports.

The explosive device was reportedly attached to the underside of the vehicle and remotely detonated as the colonel drove onto Kolpinskoye Highway.

The officer died at the scene.

Russian media outlets identified the victim as a colonel serving as chief navigator of the 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army. His identity has not been officially disclosed.

Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed that it had opened a criminal investigation into the killing of a serviceman following the vehicle explosion.

Investigators, forensic specialists and police officers were deployed to the scene to examine the wreckage, collect evidence and establish the circumstances of the attack. The highway was temporarily closed as security personnel conducted their investigation.

Footage of the explosion was reportedly captured by a residential building's security camera. Russian authorities were also searching for individuals suspected of planting the explosive device.

Second bombing in the same neighborhood

The latest attack closely resembles a bombing on Aug. 27, when a vehicle carrying a Russian military officer exploded on the same highway in the Slavyanka neighborhood, killing a lieutenant colonel and seriously injuring his wife.

The earlier victim was subsequently identified by independent Russian media as 43-year-old Sergey Sechkov, who reportedly served in the 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment.

Russian media reported that explosive devices were attached beneath vehicles and remotely detonated in both incidents. Thursday's explosion occurred approximately 500 meters from the location of the August bombing.

No claim of responsibility

No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing, and Ukrainian officials have not immediately commented on the incident.

The attack comes amid a series of targeted killings and attempted assassinations involving senior Russian military and security personnel since the beginning of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.

Among the most prominent incidents was the December 2024 killing of Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the military's radiological, chemical and biological defense forces, in a bomb attack outside his Moscow apartment building.

More recently, senior Russian General Staff officers have also been targeted in bombings and shootings in the Moscow region.

The latest incident is likely to raise further questions about security arrangements for Russian military personnel, particularly senior officers, as investigators work to establish who organized the attack and whether it was connected to the previous bombing. (ILKHA)