Russia charges St. Petersburg bomb suspect with terrorism

Russian investigators on Tuesday charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old woman, with terrorism offenses for killing pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast in St.

Tatarsky, a cheerleader for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was killed Sunday in a cafe where he was going to talk.

The Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said Trepova was accused of committing “terrorist acts by an organized group that caused intentional death.” The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The committee said they were acting on instructions from people working for Ukraine.

Russia’s health ministry said another 40 people were injured in the blast, and 25 remained in hospital as of Tuesday morning.

Trepova was transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where prosecutors must ask the Basmanny district court to hold him in pre-trial detention.

Footage from the St. Petersburg had Tatarsky show off the figurine to the audience before it exploded.

Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee on Monday accused Ukrainian intelligence of organizing the assassination with the help of supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny – a possible reference to the fact that Trepova once signed up to an anti-Kremlin tactical election scheme promoted by Navalny’s movement.

An aide to the Ukrainian president said the attack was the result of an internal conflict in Russia.

Court documents show that Trepova was detained in protest on February 24, 2022, when Russia sent armed forces to Ukraine.

Trepova’s husband told independent investigative outlet The Insider on Monday that he believed she had been framed and had no idea the statue contained explosives.

Tatarsky himself fought in Ukraine for separatist forces, and also served time in Ukraine for bank robbery.

Last year, in a video taken at a ceremony in the Kremlin to mark Russia’s unilateral annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Tatarsky said Russia should “kill everyone” and “rob everyone” in Ukraine.