Russian serviceman killed in explosion in St. Petersburg, media reports

MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - ‌A car ​carrying ​a Russian military serviceman and his wife exploded in St. Petersburg on Thursday, ‌killing the man instantly, Russian media reported.

The online ⁠Fontanka newspaper in Russia's second-largest city identified the man ‌as a lieutenant colonel. It ‌said his wife was rushed to hospital.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal ​case after a car caught fire, killing one person and injuring another, although it did ⁠not identify the deceased person as military personnel.

The Mash Telegram channel ​identified the people as a military serviceman and his wife.

Unverified footage posted by local ​Telegram channels showed police and ‌emergency workers standing in a cordoned-off street strewn with what appeared to be ⁠the shards of a torn-apart car.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for a string of 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's incident.

Most recently, ‌a Russian military officer was killed in a bomb attack on August ‌13 in Russian-annexed Crimea. A woman was later ⁠arrested on suspicion of ‌assassinating him on ​behalf of Ukrainian special services.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Sharon ‌Singleton)

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