Russian serviceman wounded in Engels shooting near strategic bomber base

A Russian serviceman was shot and hospitalised in Engels on Thursday. The attack extends a run of assaults on figures linked to Moscow's war effort.A Russian serviceman was hospitalised on Thursday after an attempt on his life, in what authorities said was a shooting in Russia that comes amid a series of attacks on military personnel and others linked to the war in Ukraine.The assault took place in Engels in Russia's Saratov region, according to the regional branch of the Investigative Committee. The authorities did not identify the serviceman or disclose his rank, but said a criminal investigation had been opened on charges of attempted murder and illegal arms trafficking.Investigators said the serviceman was taken to hospital after the attack. Bullets and shell casings were found at the scene. The authorities did not say who they believed carried out the shooting.Engels, a city of more than 220,000 people on the east bank of the Volga River, is home to several industrial plants. Russia's main base for nuclear-capable strategic bombers is located just outside the city. The area has repeatedly been targeted in Ukrainian drone attacks, prompting the military to move most of the bombers. The shooting follows a series of bombings in Russia, many of them targeting people connected to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Last week, a serviceman was killed and his wife was injured in a car bomb attack on the outskirts of St Petersburg. Three weeks earlier, the director of a factory supplying drones to the Russian military was seriously injured and his driver was killed when their car exploded outside Yekaterinburg, about 1,400 kilometres east of Moscow. In both cases, the authorities did not immediately say who they believed was behind the attacks.Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin told 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 organised 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 filed criminal charges against him. The attack in Engels adds to that pattern of assaults on people linked to Russia's war effort. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 4, 2026 00:28 IST