Car bomb kills Russian soldier near St Petersburg in latest targeted assassination

A Russian military serviceman was killed after the car he was driving was blown up in the Pushkinsky District of St Petersburg, investigators said in Thursday. “Investigative authorities have opened a criminal case into the murder of a member of the armed forces,” a statement from Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Video showed that military police had sealed off the area as investigators and forensic scientists worked at the scene. A bomb-damaged dark blue SUV with its doors, boot and bonnet open stood on a road littered with blast debris next to what looked like an empty passenger bus which appeared to have also suffered damage. Russia has blamed Ukraine for previous assassinations of senior military officials and people linked to Moscow’s war effort. Ukrainian sources have claimed responsibility in some cases, while denying others. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Thursday. Another serviceman was killed in a car explosion in the same district of Russia’s second largest city on August 27. Other car bombs attacks have occurred in Moscow and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, in recent months. The serviceman was not immediately identified, but the online Fontanka newspaper reported that the deceased held the rank of colonel. Reuters could not independently verify that.