Russia’s second-largest city’s explosion, which wounded at least 30 people, may have targeted Vladlen Tatarsky. However, according to reports, he was “handed an exploding statuette.”
The Russian interior minister reported that a St. Petersburg cafe explosion killed a pro-war military blogger.
Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in the cafe explosion on Sunday while discussing. At least 30 people were wounded.
Tatarsky, whose actual name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 Telegram followers and was one of the most prominent influential military bloggers who provided a frequently critical running commentary on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s second-largest city’s Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe’s demise is unknown.
According to a website in St. Petersburg, the cafe was once owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, the private militia fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
Without providing evidence, a prominent Russian official pointed the finger of blame at Ukraine. Kyiv refuted the claim.
Russia’s foreign ministry did not accuse anyone of involvement in the assault but said Western capitals’ silence revealed their hypocrisy regarding their concern for journalists.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential counsel, attributed the explosion to Russian domestic terrorism.
“The spiders are devouring each other in a jar,” he added.
Russian media and military bloggers reported that a lady gave Tatarsky an exploding statuette during a public meeting.
A witness said Nastya asked Tatarsky questions and spoke with her on tape.
Alisa Smotrova, a witness, quoted Nastya as saying she had sculpted a bust of the blogger. But guards asked her to leave it at the entrance out of concern that it was a bomb.
Nastya and Tatarsky chuckled and joked. She then walked to the door, retrieved the bust, and gave it to Tatarsky.
According to reports, he placed the statuette on a nearby table, and an explosion ensued. Smotrova described panicked individuals fleeing the scene, some of whom were injured by the fractured glass and covered in blood.
Nothing is certain at this time.
It would be the second Ukrainian conflict-related murder in Russia if Tatarsky was targeted.
Darya Dugina, the daughter of a close ally of Vladimir Putin, was murdered in August 2017 when a suspected explosive device detonated on the Toyota Land Cruiser she was traveling in.
Tatarsky was among the hundreds who attended an opulent Kremlin ceremony in September to announce Russia’s annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions.
“We will defeat everyone, murder everyone, and rob everyone,” he said in a video.
As St. Petersburg was not a military target, military analyst Sean Bell told that it “looks really unlikely” that the Ukrainian military was behind the attack.
Tatarsky has received praise from other pro-war Russian commentators.
Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the alias War Gonzo, said, “He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and always came out alive. But the war discovered him in a Petersburg cafe.”
