A Russian colonel has been killed in a car bombing in St Petersburg as US peace envoys arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The blast occurred on Kolpinsky Prospekt in the city's Pushkin district on Thursday, while the officer, believed to be Dmitry Lobodin, 57, was driving his SUV. A remotely detonated explosive device had been attached to the underside of the vehicle, Russian news outlet Fontanka reported.
Colonel Lobodin held the position of chief navigator in Russia's 6th Air and Air Defence Army, reported independent Russian news outlet Agentsvo. “The house where he is registered is located 400 metres from the site of the explosion,” the outlet reports.
Ukraine Allegations and Past Attacks
Ukraine's so-called Book of Executioners website alleges Lobodin “directly participated in the open military invasion”. There will be immediate suspicions that Ukraine's secret services are behind the attack, as Moscow has repeatedly blamed Ukrainian intelligence services for car bombings targeting Russian military and security officials.
In August, Lt-Col Sergei Sechkov, 43, of Russia's Aerospace Forces, was killed in a car bombing in St Petersburg. Pro-war Telegram channel Voevoda reacted to the latest explosion by writing: “Another vehicle blown up. Another terrorist attack targeting a service member. Relevant authorities - are you actually going to do anything about this? I’m not even talking about a reciprocal response. But what about basic protection, at the very least?”
Investigation and Strategic Importance
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case “into the murder of a military officer”. The 6th Guards Air Force and Air Defence Army is one of Russia's most strategically important aviation formations, responsible for protecting airspace over St Petersburg and much of the country's north-western frontier with NATO. Its units have also been involved in Russia's war against Ukraine.
US Envoys' Visit and Peace Talks
News of the apparent attack emerged as President Donald Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for talks with Putin about the results of US-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations. They had just taken part in two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, which wrapped up on Wednesday with an agreement on a major prisoner-of-war exchange but no apparent breakthrough towards ending the nearly five-year war.
It was the first meeting in nine months between the delegations. Although Russia and Ukraine have from time to time swapped POWs, they have remained far apart in their demands for accepting a peace settlement. After meeting with Putin, Kushner said that he and Witkoff will fly to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
