Reports Say 6th Air and Air Defense Army Colonel Dmitry Lobodin Killed in Car Bombing

A Russian military colonel was killed in a car bombing in St. Petersburg on Thursday morning.

The force of the explosion was sufficient to blow out the windows of a nearby passenger bus, though local reports from Fontanka indicate that none of the 30 to 40 people on board were injured.

Criminal Case Launched into Murder of 6th Air Defense Army Colonel

While the Investigative Committee has not officially disclosed the victim’s name, they confirmed the launch of a criminal case into the murder of a serviceman. The victim was a colonel serving in the 6th Air and Air Defense Army, according to sources cited by the local broadcaster 78.ru.

According to local broadcaster 78.ru, the officer was alone at the time of the blast and had traveled approximately 300 meters from his apartment building before the device was triggered remotely.

Several sources have speculated on the identity of the deceased. The independent news outlet Agentstvo and other reports identified the victim as Dmitry Lobodin, the chief navigator of the 6th Army. Records indicate Lobodin is registered at an address 400 meters from the site of the explosion.

The Ukrainian civil society group “Myrotvorets” has previously accused Lobodin of participating in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While some Russian media outlets initially named other potential targets, including Colonels Oleg Skitsky—commander of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment—and Ilya Koryakin—deputy commander of the 22nd Bomber Aviation Division—these remain unverified. When contacted by media, the colonel’s wife declined to comment.

Investigation into the St. Petersburg Suspect

Russian authorities have focused their investigation on a 31-year-old suspect. According to reports cited by Fontanka, the individual allegedly spent a month working as a loader at a nearby “Lenta” supermarket to monitor the officer’s movements. Investigators believe the suspect planted the bomb at approximately 1 a.m. before fleeing the country, traveling first to Istanbul and then to Moldova, a nation that does not extradite suspects to Russia.

The investigation has also produced an unusual theory regarding the origin of the explosives. Sources cited by Fontanka suggest the device was retrieved from a dead drop after being delivered to the Leningrad region via a balloon launched from neighboring Baltic states. These claims regarding the logistics of the attack have not been independently verified by other outlets.

Pattern of Attacks on Military Personnel

On August 27, 2026, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Sechkov, 43, of the 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment, was killed in a car bomb explosion situated half a kilometer from the scene of the latest blast. In that incident, Sechkov’s wife was seriously injured. The victim in the August attack had been accused of war crimes by the Ukrainian civil society group Myrotvorets.

These targeted strikes follow a trend of violence against Russian military figures. In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection troops, was killed by an explosion as he left his residential building in south-eastern Moscow.

Other notable incidents include the death of Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik in April 2025 and the August 27, 2026 killing of Sergei Sechkov. On November 12, 2026, a Russian military officer was killed in an explosion in the St. Petersburg area.

While Russia has consistently blamed Ukrainian intelligence services for these targeted assassinations, claims of responsibility vary. As the investigation continues, forensic specialists remain at the scene on the Kolpinskoye Highway. The Investigative Committee said that “all the circumstances of the incident are being established,” but has provided no further details on the specific nature of the charges filed in the murder probe.