The Ukrainian authorities planned Sunday’s bombing of a St. Petersburg café, officials have said
Police officers stand guard near a cafe damaged by an explosion which killed military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maxim Fomin) in Saint Petersburg, Russia. © Sputnik / Alexei Danichev
The blast in St. Petersburg that killed military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was orchestrated by Ukraine, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said on Monday. It described the murder as “a terrorist attack.”
Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, was hosting a live event with his followers in a café in the city’s historical center on Sunday when a bomb went off, killing him and wounding more than 30 others.
According to the NAK, Kiev used “individuals who collaborated with [Alexey] Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation [FBK]” to carry out the attack. Officials described suspect Darya Trepova, who was detained on Monday, as an “active supporter” of the FBK.
Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure, founded the FBK in 2011. The organization was labeled by the authorities as ‘extremist’ and banned in Russia in 2021. Navalny is currently serving a prison sentence for an embezzlement conviction. He accused Russian officials of trying to poison him after suddenly falling ill on a domestic flight in 2020. The Kremlin denied any involvement in the incident.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
