Newsman: Russian law enforcement on Monday detained a woman Darya Trepova (26) as suspected of bombing a St. Petersburg cafe, in which a pro-Kremlin military blogger was killed and dozens injured on Sunday, according to media reports. In a video from the interior ministry published by state news agency TASS, a woman presented as Darya Trepova can be heard saying she “brought a statuette” inside the cafe, which “later exploded.”
Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by the St. Petersburg cafe blast, which also injured more than 30 people.
This is the second time a pro-Kremlin media figure has been killed on Russian soil since the invasion began.Last August, Darya Dugina — who was under U.S. sanctions for spreading misinformation about the war — was killed in a car bombing
Russia’s top investigative body announced Monday it had opened a probe into the bombing, which it labeled a “high-profile murder.”
The Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee called the bombing a “terrorist act” and accused Ukraine’s special service of planning the attack.
Tatarsky — whose real name was Maxim Fomin — was part of a group of high-profile influencers filing reports on the Ukraine war. He had more than half a million followers on Telegram.
Trepova was reportedly detained for several days last year for taking part in a protest against the war in Ukraine on the day Russia’s full-scale invasion started.
She said she had been arrested for “being present at the place” where the bombing occurred.
