Earlier today, Darya Trepova, 26, was arrested in connection with the bombing that killed prominent pro-Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.
He died in an explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg, where he was giving a lecture. It is reported that the bomb was hidden in a figurine that the blogger had just received as a gift.
The Kremlin called the incident a “terrorist act.” Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The active phase of the investigation is now underway.
“We are seeing some pretty strong moves to arrest suspects. Let’s be patient and wait for further announcements from our intelligence agencies working on this.”
Tataska’s murder was the second death of a prominent military propagandist since Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Who was Vladlen Tatarsky?
Tatarsky, 40, real name Maxim Fromin, was one of the most prominent members of a group of military bloggers who commented constantly on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The group was pro-war but could criticize the government and managed to avoid direct criticism of President Vladimir Putin.
Tatarsky wanted Russia to continue the invasion even more aggressively. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the city of Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal in November, Tatarsky wondered why Moscow hadn’t tried to assassinate him with a drone.
Tatarsky had over 560,000 Telegram followers and was one of the most influential military bloggers commenting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He was an ardent supporter of the invasion and was born in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
He was part of a community of pro-Kremlin war bloggers whose profile and notoriety rose with the onset of the war.
Who is Daria Trepova?
The 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident was put on the wanted list by the Interior Ministry earlier this year, the Russian State Commission of Inquiry said, but declined to provide any further information about her.
What happened in the cafe?
On Sunday evening, Tatarsky performed in front of a hundred people at Street Food Bar No. 1. The event was organized by Cyber Z Front. The letter Z was adopted as the Russian symbol for war.
A witness named Alisa Smotrova said the woman, who identified herself as Nastya, asked questions and exchanged comments with Tatarsky.
Ms Smotrova quoted Nastya as saying that she made a miniature blogger figurine, but the guards asked her to leave it at the door, thinking it might be a bomb.
According to Ssmotova, before going to the door, taking the bust and handing it to Mr. Tatarsky, a joke ensued. He reportedly placed the bust on a nearby table and there was an explosion during his performance.
What could be the motive?
Tatarsky is the second prominent media figure to be killed in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Daria Dugina, a journalist and daughter of a well-known ultra-nationalist figure, was killed in a car bomb near Moscow last August.
Tatarsky was also reportedly linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group fighting for Russia in Ukraine and former owner of the cafe where the bomb was detonated.
The Kremlin claims there are indications that Ukraine was planning an attack.
Source: I News
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