An explosion at a cafe in Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, killed one person and injured at least 15 on Sunday, Russian news agencies said, citing emergency services.
The explosion, according to the agencies, was the result of a bombing at the site of an event involving a Russian war propagandist, Vladlen Tatarsky, who is the fatal victim.
Tatarsky is a war correspondent known to be close to the Wagner paramilitary group, which took an active role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
From personnes to subi des injuries de gravité variable, and include par éclats. Vladlen Tatarski passed away and 16 blessed persons. pic.twitter.com/Idu6zSczHd
– Яннис В.Зброек (@yanvonzeebroeck) April 2, 2023
It is said that Vladlen Tatarsky, one of the most famous Russian military propagandists, is dead. In St. Petersburg, Russia, an explosion has just occurred at a cafe where Vladlen Tatarsky was having a “creative evening.” pic.twitter.com/WfQAFlBt8B
– Special Kherson cat (@bayraktar_1love) April 2, 2023
“One person was killed in the incident. It was military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. Sixteen people were injured,” the Interfax news agency confirmed, citing the Interior Ministry.
Russia’s state broadcaster Vesti, meanwhile, reported that an explosive device was embedded in a statuette that a young woman presented to Tatarsky at the event that took place at the café.
A security source told the TASS agency that the explosion was equivalent to detonating 200 grams of dynamite.
#AHORA | Minutes before being detonated, the prorruso blogger, Vladlen Tatarski, received a muñeco de él. Russian media say it can be loaded with explosives. https://t.co/ARBaK3S5Ne pic.twitter.com/KCStBR8hpD
-Mundo and Conflicto (@MundoEConflicto) April 2, 2023
If an attack is confirmed, it would be the second murder of a Russian nationalist in Russia since the start of the war, after analyst Daria Dugina, daughter of Russian nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin, was killed last August.
Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent military bloggers covering the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters, which quotes the St. Petersburg website as saying that the explosion took place in a cafe belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Wagner’s private army fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
Tatarsky was a real sweetheart of Z-land: “We will beat everyone, we will kill everyone, we will rob everyone we need, everything will be as we want.” pic.twitter.com/1CLHOx0zVq
-Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) April 2, 2023
According to the agency AFP, the explosion took place at “Street Food Bar No. 1” in the center of the city.
A group called Cyber Front Z, who refer to themselves as “Russia’s intelligence forces” on social media, said they hired the café for an event on Sunday.
“There was a terrorist attack. We took some security measures, but unfortunately they were not enough,” the group said on Telegram. “Condolences to all who knew the excellent war correspondent and our friend Vladlen Tatarsky,” he added.
Tatarsky, 40, was from the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which Russia claims to have annexed and which is currently mainly controlled by Russian forces.
Source: DN
