Russia has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the killing of a pro-Russian war blogger in St. Petersburg cafe on Monday. The young Russian woman who was accused apparently admitted in a police video that she was the one who had planted the bomb, though she did not know that she was carrying an explosive.
Darya Trepova, 26, was arrested for the killing of Maxim Fomin, pseudonymously known as Vladlen Tatarsky, and injuring 30 others in the event. However, Reuters reported that Ukraine has denied the allegations, suggesting that the bombing was a product of “domestic terrorism.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald drew a connection between the death of Vladlen Tatarsky and Darya Dugina, who was killed in a car explosion last year, posting to Twitter: “Gee, I wonder who carried out this terrorist attack on a cafe in St. Petersburg where a Russian journalist was killed as he held an event on the war in Ukraine, along with 12 others who were wounded. Wonder if it might be the same people who murdered Darya Dungina in her car?”
Dugina was reportedly the daughter of a national ideologue in Russia, but Ukraine also denied involvement in that murder as well. And it has apparently been established that Tatarsky and Dugina were familiar with one another, as journalist Afshin Rattansi posted a photo of the two together. However, it is unclear how the two were affiliated.
Tatarsky was an ultra-nationalist who had suggested last year that Russia would only claim victory over Ukraine if they “kill[ed] everyone” and “rob[bed] everyone” in the small country.
Despite Ukraine denying involvement, Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAC) had suggested that jailed political opposition member Alexei Navalny and Ukrainian intelligence services had carried out the attack, per Reuters.
Navalny clapped back at the accusation, suggesting that it was more likely that Russia’s own intelligence services had carried out the horrific attack. Navalny’s allies have since fled the country since being labeled an extremist group by the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The active phase of the investigation is now under way,” adding that “[w]e see quite vigorous steps to detain suspects. Let’s be patient and wait for the next announcements from our special services, which are working on this.”
However, Ukrainian presidential adviser, has suggested that the attack was a product of infighting in Russia, likening the political climate in the country as a cluster of spiders consuming one another in a jar, echoing Navalny’s words.
