Russian authorities said Monday they had arrested a suspect and concluded that Ukraine worked with backers of a jailed opposition leader to carry out the bombing attack that killed one of the country’s most prominent military bloggers.
Vladlen Tatarsky, an outspoken supporter of the war who helped shape the Kremlin’s anti-Ukrainian narrative, was killed in an explosion Sunday night as he held an event at a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg. The blast, which the Kremlin called a “terrorist attack,” left more than 30 people injured.
The killing of Tatarsky, 40, left Russia’s pro-war establishment shaken and demanding retribution, as authorities moved swiftly to assign blame. Officials in Kyiv and Western military analysts suggested that the incident could have been the result of internal splits.
The Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement early Monday that it had arrested a woman by the name of Daria Trepova, 26, in connection with Tatarsky’s death.
A release from the committee did not share any evidence linking Trepova to the incident, or any details about who she is, with the spokesman only saying that investigators were working with her to establish a motive.
Shortly after, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that Ukraine’s security services were behind the blast. It also accused “agents” working with jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption organization of being involved.
The counterterrorism agency said Trepova, a St. Petersburg native who had hours earlier been placed on a wanted list, was a supporter of Navalny.
Neither agency provided any evidence of the involvement of Ukraine or Navalny’s backers in the explosion. Kyiv did not claim responsibility for the incident, but hinted that it could have been a case of “domestic terrorism.”
The arrest comes after Russian state media reported Sunday that a young woman allegedly handed Tatarsky a bust of himself, containing explosives, shortly before the…
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