A senior Russian military officer was killed in a suspected car bomb attack on Thursday in St Petersburg.
The colonel died instantly when the blast tore apart his Chinese-made Geely car at 10am, severing his legs as he drove along Kolpinskoye Highway, according to reports.
His wife was left fighting for her life in intensive care after reportedly suffering catastrophic injuries, including the loss of both legs.
Haunting images from the scene show the mangled wreckage of the torn-apart vehicle scattered across the cordoned-off street.
Russian media said the car was blown apart by an ‘improvised explosive device’.
The victim is believed to be a 53-year-old lieutenant colonel and military pilot in the Russian Air Force and Air Defences.
The high-ranking officer was driving out of a paid car park when the ‘bomb’ detonated, it is understood.
Multiple Russian military figures and others linked to the war have died in car explosions, many of which have been blamed on Ukrainian secret services.
A senior Russian military officer was killed in a suspected car bomb attack on Thursday in St Petersburg (pictured)
Haunting images from the scene show the mangled wreckage of the vehicle scattered across the road
Russian media said the car (pictured) was blown apart by an ‘improvised explosive device’
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday’s attack.
There were reports the blast occurred after the couple picked up a package from Ozon – a Russian-style Amazon giant that is currently targeted by Ukraine in drone strikes.
Bomb disposal experts worked at the scene, while Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over the incident.
The Slavyanka district, where the car exploded, has many homes allocated to senior Russian Defence Ministry officers.
In recent events, a Russian military officer was blown up in a bomb attack in Russian-annexed Crimea on August 13.
A woman was later detained on suspicion of carrying out the assassination for Ukrainian special services.
The attack came on the same day Russian leader Vladimir Putin told Britain to reverse its ‘hostile line’ on Ukraine or Russia could hit UK military targets.
The warning comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham was told Britain could face Russian retaliation over its support for Ukraine and to be prepared for a ‘direct response’ from Moscow.
On Monday, the new premier swapped blueprints for the long-range Scalp missile with Moscow’s enemy in a visit to Kyiv, that would allow Ukraine to build their own weapons, rather than rely on imports.
Moscow accused the UK of ‘participating’ in his war with Ukraine and warned that their forces were intent on identifying ‘the production sites of such missiles, the production sites of other military equipment’ in order to destroy them.
As such, UK security chiefs have been primed for a Kremlin attack on Britain – either towards Mr Burnham or by targeting defence sites.
Putin’s warning comes a day after CIA director John Ratcliffe made a surprise trip to Moscow where he issued a warning to the Kremlin not to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, either by using a nuclear weapon or targeting Kyiv’s Western allies.
The ‘just don’t do it’ advice was based on US intelligence that Russia is primed to act immediately and dramatically after its campaign on the battlefield stalled again.
Following the visit, the Kremlin hinted it was not looking for peace with the West, warning ‘it is too early to say if the deep crisis in US-Russia relations can be overcome,’ before boasting ‘Ukraine is definitely losing the war.’
Before departing No10, Sir Keir Starmer had warned Russia could launch an attack on a Nato country in the next four years, western intelligence assessments had indicated.
Putin had earlier been advised the new incumbent in No10 would be ‘softer than [Sir Keir] Starmer’ but the despot’s hopes were dashed by the PM’s efforts to fortify the UK-Ukraine military alliance in recent weeks.
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