Pro-Russian blogger killed by cafe explosion in Saint Petersburg

Apr 03, 2023

Mahmoud Bennett Social Media Producer/Reporter

By Mahmoud Bennett (Social Media Producer/Reporter)

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Vladlen Tartarsky, a well-known pro-Russian military blogger, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, April 1. Russian state media reported that Tartarsky was given a small statue as a gift which was laced with more than 200 grams of TNT, causing the explosion that killed him and injured at least 25 others.

Russian authorities, who blamed Ukraine for the attack, later claimed to have found the person responsible for the explosion. In a video released by authorities, 26-year-old Darya Trepova admitted to handing over the statuette, but did not admit to knowing about the explosion or any further involvement.

In 2022, Trepova was detained by police for participating in a rally against the war on Feb. 24, 2022, the day of the invasion, and spent 10 days in jail, as reported by The Associated Press.

Vladlen Tartarsky, whose real name was Maxine Fomin, was born in the disputed Donetsk region and was a vocal supporter of Russian war efforts in Ukraine. Having accumulating more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel, he was also critical of Moscow’s top military brass and some of their strategies in regions like Kherson and Bakhmut.

His assassination follows the killing of a pro-Russian journalist in August 2022, and a string of unusual deaths of top officials linked to the Kremlin.

While Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for the recent blast, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak casted it as a result of political infighting in Russia. “Spiders are eating each other in a jar,” he tweeted in English late Sunday, April 2. “Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time,” he added.

Tags: Russia, Ukraine

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

A WELL KNOWN PRO-RUSSIAN MILITARY BLOGGER IS DEAD AFTER AN EXPLOSION WENT OFF AT A CAFE IN SAINT PETERSBURG RUSSIA

VLADLEN TATARSKY WAS INSIDE THE CAFE WHEN SOMEONE REPORTEDLY HANDED HIM A SMALL STATUE AS A GIFT – RUSSIAN STATE MEDIA SAYS IT WAS LACED WITH 200 GRAMS OF TNT AND BLEW UP, KILLING HIM AND INJURING AT LEAST 25 OTHERS

NOW RUSSIA, *WHICH BLAMES UKRAINE* CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND THE PERSON BEHIND IT … AND A CONFESSION:

VIDEO: WHAT DID YOU DO?… I TOOK THE STATUE THERE THAT EXPLODED”

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

THE WOMAN’S HUSBAND HOWEVER TOLD INDEPENDENT MEDIA HE BELIEVES IT WAS ALL A SET UP

BORN IN THE DISPUTED DONETSK REGION – TATARSKY’S REAL NAME WAS MAXINE FOMIN AND HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST VOCAL SUPPORTERS OF RUSSIAN WAR EFFORTS IN UKRAINE – EVEN PARTICIPATING IN COMBAT HIMSELF

TATARSKY: WE’LL DEFEAT EVERYONE, WE’LL KILL EVERYONE, WE’LL ROB EVERYONE WE NEED TO”

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

BUT WITH OVER HALF A MILLION FOLLOWERS ON TELEGRAM, TATARSKY

WAS ALSO AT TIMES CRITICAL OF MOSCOW’S TOP MILITARY BRASS AND SOME OF THEIR STRATEGIES IN REGIONS LIKE KHERSON AND BAKHMUT

HIS ASSASINATION FOLLOWS THE SEPARATE KILLING OF A PRO-RUSSIAN JOURNALIST LAST AUGUST AND A STRING OF UNUSUAL DEATHS OF TOP OFFICIALS LINKED TO THE KREMLIN

WHILE UKRAINE DID NOT DIRECTLY TO THE RECENT BLAST – ONE UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL CASTED IT AS A RESULT OF POLITICAL INFIGHTING IN RUSSIA

THAT’S YOUR QUICK BREAKDOWN – FOR MORE UNBIASED STRAIGHT FACTS – HEAD OVER TO STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.COM

Pro-Russian blogger killed by cafe explosion in Saint Petersburg

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