New Details: High-Ranking Pilot Killed In St. Petersburg

The incident occurred in a neighborhood that was undergoing active development of housing for military personnel.

On the morning of August 27, a car exploded in the Slavyanka neighborhood of St. Petersburg; inside the car a lieutenant colonel from an Air Force and Air Defense unit was traveling with his wife, according to “Fontanka.” According to the report, the man died at the scene, while the woman was taken to the intensive care unit in critical condition. Eyewitnesses told the publication that the explosion occurred around 10 a.m. near a “Magnit” store on Kolpinskoye Highway. The Geely crossover exploded after the driver started the engine and drove a few meters, Shot reported. The car’s windows were shattered, the hood and front bumper were torn off, and debris scattered over dozens of meters. Cars parked nearby were damaged.

According to preliminary information, a homemade explosive device detonated inside the vehicle. The victim’s legs were blown off, Mash reports. The incident occurred in a neighborhood that was undergoing active development of housing for military personnel. In 2010, Vladimir Putin, who was then serving as prime minister, visited Slavyanka to inspect the newly built homes. By 2012, the Ministry of Defense owned nearly a third of the housing under construction in the area. There is no official information yet regarding the identity of the victim or the circumstances of the explosion. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the incident.

This is already the third case of a high-ranking Russian military officer being killed in an explosion since the beginning of the month. On August 13, Captain 1st Rank Robert Shageev of the Russian Navy was killed in an explosion on a street in Sevastopol; prior to the annexation of Crimea, he had served in theNaval Forces of Ukraine and commanded the only Ukrainian submarine, the “Zaporizhzhia,” according to The Moscow Times.

On August 1, an explosion rocked the Balzi Rossi restaurant in Moscow. Five people were killed, and at least 19 others were injured. The target of the attack may have been the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Alexander Chaiko, whom Ukrainian authorities accuse of involvement in crimes in Bucha. No official information has been released regarding his condition following the explosion.

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