Russian serviceman hospitalized after a shooting, authorities say

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A Russian serviceman was hospitalized Thursday after an attempt on his life, authorities said, a shooting that follows a series of attacks on military personnel and figures linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The man was assaulted in the city of Engels in Russia's Saratov region, according to the regional branch of the Investigative Committee. It did not identify the man or give his rank.

It said the man was hospitalized, and bullets and casings were found at the scene. A criminal investigation was launched on charges of attempted murder and illegal arms trafficking. Authorities did not say who they believed carried out the attack.

Engels, with a population of over 220,000, is on the east bank of the Volga River, and is home to multiple industrial plants. The main base of Russia’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers is just outside the city. It has repeatedly come under Ukrainian drone attacks, forcing the military to relocate most of the bombers.

The attack follows a series of bombings in Russia, many targeting people involved in the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has blamed Kyiv for some of the blasts.

Last week, a serviceman was killed and his wife was injured by a car bomb on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. Three weeks before that, the director of a factory supplying drones to the Russian military was badly injured and his driver was killed when their car exploded just outside Yekaterinburg, 1,400 kilometers (about 870 miles) east of Moscow.

In those cases, the authorities also did not immediately say who they believed carried out the attacks.

Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin directed the Federal Security Service and other agencies to tighten security around military and government officials.

Kyiv has claimed responsibility for some attacks inside Russia. Ukraine’s SBU security service said in December 2024 that it had organized the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who headed the Russian military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces.

Kirillov was killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after Ukraine’s security service leveled criminal charges against him.