Media outlets identify Russian serviceman killed in car blast in St Petersburg

A Russian serviceman killed when his car exploded in St Petersburg on 27 August has been identified as Major Sergei Siechkov of the 332nd Helicopter Regiment, who was listed in the Myrotvorets database. He was supposedly killed by a 24-year-old Russian woman recruited by Ukrainians. [Myrotvorets, Ukrainian for "peacemaker", is a Ukrainian website that publishes a running list (and sometimes personal information) of people whom the authors consider to be enemies of Ukraine – ed.]

Source: Russian media outlets 78.ru, Fontanka.ru, Agentstvo. News and ASTRA; Ukrainian Telegram channels Supernova+ and Exilenova+

Quote from Supernova+: "Major Sergei Siechkov was probably killed in St Petersburg yesterday. He was listed in the Myrotvorets database with the rank of major."

Details: Siechkov's father confirmed to Agentstvo. News that his son had been killed in the blast. Details of Siechkov's biography also match information published by Russian media outlets the previous day.

78.ru also identified the 43-year-old serviceman killed in the car blast as Sergei S., who was born in Ryazan. According to the outlet, Siechkov had previously reported to his superiors that he was on a "kill list" and regularly checked his car before setting off.

ASTRA reported that he lived with his wife around 100 m from the scene. His wife Anna, who was also in the car at the time of the blast, works at a marketplace collection point near where the incident occurred. She is currently in hospital. However, an eyewitness said reports circulating in the media the previous day that both of her legs had been severed were untrue.

Resources linked to Russian military aviation have also confirmed the death of a Russian Air Force serviceman in St Petersburg on 27 August, Exilenova+ reported.

According to the Myrotvorets website, Siechkov was registered at an address in St Petersburg and served in the 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment of the 6th Air and Air Defence Army. He took part in the war against Ukraine. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) described servicemen from the unit as "war criminals" and accused them of attacks on civilians on the Slobozhanshchyna front.

According to Fontanka, a 24-year-old woman attached an improvised explosive device to the underside of Siechkov's car. Several months ago, representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces supposedly contacted her via a messaging app, convinced her that she "lives in the wrong country" and offered her relocation to Ukraine after she carried out the task of blowing up the car.

On the evening of 26 August, according to the media, she placed the explosive device under the driver's seat and immediately left for Pulkovo Airport. At 05:00, she had already flown to Türkiye.

The FSB supposedly identified her almost immediately and contacted Türkiye, asking the authorities to detain her. However, Turkish law enforcement said that she had already flown to Chișinău, Moldova.

Background:

• On the morning of 27 August, a car exploded in St Petersburg's Pushkinsky district. The media identified its owner as a lieutenant colonel serving in Russia's Air Force and air defence units and reported that he had died and his wife had been injured.
• The Russian Investigative Committee later said that the victims had been identified and confirmed that the deceased was a serviceman and the woman injured was his wife.

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