Russia cafe bomb suspect charged with terrorism

Russian officials have charged Darya Trepova with terrorism in connection to the killing of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Trepova was arrested in St Petersburg and appeared in court in Moscow, where she was ordered to remain in custody until June 2.

Tatarsky was killed in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday in a blast that injured over 30 people. A video released by authorities showed Trepova admitting to bringing a statuette to the cafe that later exploded, but she did not admit to knowing about the explosion or any further involvement.

She was accused of “a terrorist attack carried out by an organised group inflicting purposeful death” and “illegal possession of explosive devices by an organised group,” according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes into significant crimes.

She should be kept in detention, according to the court’s recommendation. Judge Valentina Levasheva was quoted by Russian media as saying following the court session that the investigators’ request for Darya Trepova to be kept in confinement had been approved and that she would be held until June 2.

The group also stated that it had proof the attack had been planned by Ukrainian security forces with assistance from the Anti-Corruption Foundation of imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

But Kyiv presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the blast as part of a Russian “internal political fight”

Tatarsky, 40, was a guest speaker at a patriotic gathering with supporters in the cafe late on a Sunday afternoon. Tatarsky’s real name is Maxim Fomin.

A young woman with a brown coat was seen entering the cafe in a video that went viral on social media. She appeared to be carrying a cardboard box.

Before the woman sat down, the box was seen being placed on a table in the cafe in the images. A statue was presented to Tatarsky in another film. With more than 500,000 followers, Tatarsky was a well-known blogger with a troubled history.

He said that he joined the separatists supported by Russia after they freed him from prison, where he was serving time for armed robbery. He was born in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

He belonged to a pro-Kremlin military blogging group that has gained somewhat of a reputation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine got underway in February 2022.

Tatarsky is one of many who has gone so far as to criticise the Russian government, blaming President Vladimir Putin, the military, and even the generals for defeats on the battlefield.

But, Mr. Putin presented him with the posthumous Order of Courage on Monday.

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