Russian Serviceman Shot Near Strategic Bomber Base — SkimNews
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- A Russian serviceman was hospitalized Thursday after a shooting in Engels, Saratov region, according to the regional Investigative Committee, which launched a criminal case on attempted murder and illegal arms trafficking charges.
- Engels is home to the main base of Russia's nuclear-capable strategic bombers and has come under repeated Ukrainian drone attacks, forcing the military to relocate most of the bombers.
- The shooting follows a car bombing last week on the outskirts of St. Petersburg that killed a serviceman and injured his wife, and a car explosion three weeks earlier near Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km east of Moscow, that badly injured a drone-factory director and killed his driver.
- Vladimir Putin earlier this year directed the Federal Security Service and other agencies to tighten security around military and government officials, underscoring Moscow's concern over the wave of insider attacks.
- Ukraine's SBU security service publicly claimed responsibility for the December 2024 scooter-bomb killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, in Moscow.
- Moscow has blamed Kyiv for some of the recent blasts, though authorities have not publicly identified who they believe carried out the Engels shooting or the earlier attacks.
Why it matters: The shooting in Engels — a city hosting Russia's strategic bomber fleet and previously hit by Ukrainian drones — adds a high-value military target to a growing pattern of attacks on Russian servicemen and war-linked figures, putting fresh pressure on the FSB security tightening Putin ordered earlier this year.
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