Russian authorities claimed that Ukraine was behind the St. Petersburg café bombing
Flowers near the site of an explosion in a cafe which killed military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 3, 2023. © Sputnik / Alexei Danichev
The explosion that killed Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a St. Petersburg cafe was a terrorist attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. His statement came after Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for orchestrating the blast.
“Of course, this constitutes an act of terrorism,” Peskov explained on a call with journalists. He added, “The regime in Kiev supports terrorist activities … [and] has been behind the murders of many people since 2014.”
On Sunday, Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, was hosting a meeting with fans when a bomb detonated in the venue, killing him and injuring more than 30 others.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said on Monday that suspect Darya Trepova, who has been detained, was acting on behalf of Kiev. In a video released by police, Trepova, 26, admitted to “bringing the statuette that exploded” in the café and said that she would “explain later” how she received the figurine.
READ MORE: Who was Vladlen Tatarsky, the blogger killed in St. Petersburg?
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of conducting terrorist attacks on Russian soil, including the bombing of the Crimean Bridge in 2022. Russian officials claimed that Ukrainian agents were behind last year’s murder of journalist Darya Dugina who died from a car bombing on a road near Moscow. Ukraine denied any involvement in that incident.
