Russia Detains Suspect in Ukraine War Blogger’s Bombing Death

April 3, 2023

Daria Trepova

Russian investigators said Monday they had detained a suspect in the death of pro-Russia war blogger Vladen Tatarksy, who was killed in an explosion in a St. Petersburg café on Sunday.

Surveillance video posted by Russian media on Telegram shows the moment the bomb blew windows out of the ground floor of the building where the café was situated. 

More video shows the damage up close.

Russian authorities say Daria Trepova, who had previously been detained for taking part in anti-war rallies, has been detained “on suspicion of involvement in the explosion.”

More than 30 people are now believed to have been injured in the blast at the café, where Tatarsky—whose real name is Maxim Fomin—was a guest speaker.

On Monday Russia’s Interior Ministry released video in which Trepova is seen admitting that she brought a figurine to the café that later exploded. It’s not known whether her confession was made under duress. 

Earlier on Monday, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee had said that the killing was a “terrorist act” that had been planned by Ukraine’s intelligence services, and that it involved “agents” linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

That assertion was made without providing evidence after Ukraine officials had denied any involvement in the attack on the café.

PHOTO Source: Russian Interior Ministry 

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