Woman detained for Russian military blogger's killing as Moscow accuses Ukraine, Navalny 'agents'

A woman has been detained in connection with the killing of Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky at a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday. The arrest of Darya Trepova, who was initially placed on the interior ministry's wanted list, was confirmed by Russia's Investigative Committee on Monday."On suspicion of involvement in the explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg, employees of the Russian Investigative Committee, together with operational services, detained Darya Trepova," the Investigative Committee of Russia said on Telegram Monday.

The blast at the St Petersburg cafe also injured 32 others, besides killing the popular military blogger. Twenty-six-year-old Trepova reportedly hid the explosive device in a statuette that was given to Tatarsky as a gift. Giving more details about Trepova, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said that she had been placed under arrest for 10 days for participating in an unsanctioned demonstration in February last year. Trepova was born in Saint Petersburg and is a Russian national.

Russian authorities have said that they are investigating the killing as a "high-profile murder".

Meanwhile, Russian anti-terror investigators have accused Ukraine's security services and "agents" linked to opposition leader Alexei Navalny of the attack. Video of the moment the blast hit the cafe is circulating on social media. 

Also Read | St Petersburg cafe blast kills popular Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky

"The terrorist attack was planned by Ukrainian security services with the help of agents working with the so-called Anti-Corruption Foundation," Russia's anti-terror committee said, referring to Navalny's organisation.

Vladlen Tatarsky is extremely well-known in Russia and has over 560,000 followers on Telegram. His real name was Maxim Fomin and he was a highly vocal supporter of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

He had also attended the lavish Kremlin ceremony last September when Russia proclaimed its annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine. 

According to a St Petersburg website, the cafe once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army. The Wagner mercenaries are currently fighting alongside Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

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