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.