The person killed in the Aug. 27 car explosion in St. Petersburg has been identified as 43-year-old Russian serviceman Sergei Sechkov, according to Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+. Sechkov’s father confirmed to the independent outlet Agentstvo that his son had died in the bombing.
A number of known details about Sechkov match information about the victim that were previously reported by Russian media. According to 78.ru, the victim was a native of Ryazan named “Sergei S.,” and his wife, who was injured in the explosion, was named Anna. According to leaked data reviewed by Agentstvo, Sechkov was 43 years old, was born in Ryazan, and his wife’s name is Anna. In addition, Sechkov’s registered address is located roughly a hundred meters from the site of the explosion.
The Ukrainian project Myrotvorets has a profile for Sergei Sergeevich Sechkov on its website, listing him with the rank of major in military unit 12633 — the 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment, part of the 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army. The St. Petersburg outlet Fontanka had previously written that the victim served in the Air Force and Air Defense troops, but referred to him as a lieutenant colonel.
In May 2022, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) stated that servicemen of the 332nd Separate Guards Helicopter Regiment had taken part in the war against Ukraine. The HUR accused the unit of carrying out missile and bomb strikes on civilians in the Slobozhanske sector.
The car explosion in question took place on the morning of Aug. 27 near a store on Kolpinskoye Highway in the Slavyanka neighborhood of St. Petersburg. The serviceman inside the car was killed, and his wife was injured and hospitalized. The St. Petersburg office of the Investigative Committee confirmed the serviceman’s death and reported that a criminal case had been opened “over the car catching fire,” without specifying the charge.
Fontanka claims that a 24-year-old Russian woman planted the homemade explosive device under the car. According to the outlet’s account, on the evening of Aug. 26 she attached the device to the underside of the car beneath the driver’s seat, then headed to Pulkovo Airport and departed for Turkey at around five o’clock in the morning — a few hours before the explosion. Allegedly, she subsequently moved on to Chișinău, Moldova. The outlet does not name her or disclose the source of this information. Russian law enforcement agencies have not made any official statements about a search for a suspect.
The Ukrainian side has not confirmed involvement in the explosion, and no one has claimed responsibility for it.
Earlier, 78.ru reported that the victim had told his superiors he was “on a kill list.”
