A senior Russian military officer was killed Thursday morning when a bomb exploded inside his car in St. Petersburg, in what appears to be the latest in a series of assassinations targeting figures linked to Russia’s military and security establishment.
The officer, whose rank was equivalent to lieutenant colonel, was killed shortly before noon local time. His wife, who was also in the vehicle, was seriously wounded.
Russian reports said the blast occurred at around 10 a.m. near a supermarket in the Shushary district of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city. Initial indications suggested that an improvised explosive device had been planted inside the car.
Images from the scene showed police and emergency crews surrounding a damaged black vehicle on a cordoned-off street. Russian authorities said a criminal investigation had been opened.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Suspicion is expected to fall on Ukraine or groups linked to Kyiv, which has been accused of carrying out a series of assassinations, bombings and sabotage operations deep inside Russian-controlled territory since the war began.
Just two weeks ago, Robert Shagaev, a former commander of the Ukrainian Navy’s Zaporizhzhia submarine who later defected to Russia, was killed in Crimea when an explosive device hidden in a garbage bin detonated.
Two weeks before that, five people were reportedly killed in an explosion at an Italian restaurant in Moscow, including at least one senior security official. Between those incidents, Russian authorities also reported attempted assassinations targeting two managers at drone-production plants, one involving a car bomb and the other gunfire.
Other prominent figures killed in attacks blamed on or attributed to Ukraine include Gen. Damir Davidov, head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s missile and artillery department, who was killed in a car bombing in June, and Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at Russia’s General Staff, who was killed in another car explosion in central Moscow in December.
Robert Shagaev
Earlier attacks included the February killing of Armen Sarkisyan, founder of the Arbat Battalion, who died in an explosion after leaving an elevator; Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, who was killed in December 2024 by an explosive hidden in an electric scooter; pro-Kremlin military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, killed in a 2023 café bombing; and Darya Dugina, who died in a 2022 car bombing believed to have targeted her father, nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin.
The latest assassination comes amid a broader escalation between Moscow and Kyiv, including repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on strategic targets deep inside Russia and increasingly explicit Russian warnings that Western countries supplying weapons to Ukraine could themselves face retaliation.
The Kremlin on Thursday denied reports in U.S. media that Washington fears Russia may soon attack a NATO member and that CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow earlier this week to warn Russian officials against such a move.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports as scare stories.
“Many such materials are being published now,” he said. “Of course, this has nothing to do with reality and nothing to do with the intentions of the Russian Federation.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe
(Photo: REUTERS/Evan Vucci)
His remarks came shortly after Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, confirmed that he had held what he called a “working meeting” with Ratcliffe in Moscow. Naryshkin said the two discussed sensitive matters within their respective areas of responsibility but provided no further details.
Separately, Russia issued a direct warning to Britain over Ukrainian use of British-supplied weapons against Russian territory.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow could respond to Ukrainian attacks involving British weapons by targeting British military assets and equipment both inside and outside Ukraine.
“The response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory may include strikes on any British military facilities and equipment in Ukraine and beyond,” Zakharova said.
She also singled out Britain’s transfer of expertise related to the production of Storm Shadow cruise missiles, accusing London of attempting to distance itself from responsibility for strikes inside Russia by shifting assembly functions to Ukraine.
Russian state media noted that The Times had previously reported that Ukraine had begun using British-made drones in long-range attacks inside Russia, with oil refineries among the primary targets.
The combination of the St. Petersburg bombing, escalating attacks inside Russia and increasingly direct threats against Britain points to a conflict that is spreading well beyond the conventional battlefield in Ukraine.