St. Petersburg Blast Video Released, Suspect Revealed

Russian investigators formally charged Darya Trepova for the death of an influential pro-war military blogger in St. Petersburg
Trepova was detained the day before at a St. Petersburg flat following a thorough search
A recently leaked video circulating showed Tatarsky taking a statue, followed by what seemed to be an explosion

Russian investigators have formally accused 26-year-old Darya Trepova of terrorist offenses concerning the café bombing that killed pro-war military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.

Tatarsky, whose full name was Maxim Fomin, an eager admirer of Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, was killed on Sunday when an explosion swept through a café where he was scheduled to speak.

Vladlen Tatarsky's Death

The Investigative Committee, which investigates serious crimes, stated that Trepova was accused of performing "a terrorist act by an organized organization that resulted in purposeful murder."

ABC News reports that she operated by orders from individuals representing Ukraine. The Russian health ministry reported that forty others were hurt in the explosion, with twenty-five remaining hospitalized as of Tuesday morning.

Trepova was taken from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where prosecutors were scheduled to seek the Basmanny district court for pretrial custody later on Tuesday.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee accused Ukrainian intelligence on Monday of orchestrating the murder with the assistance of supporters of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny - a possible reference to the fact that Trepova registered for an anti-Kremlin tactical voting scheme promoted by Navalny's movement.

A Ukrainian president's aide stated that the strike resulted from a disagreement within Russia. Per CNN, several videos depict the events preceding the explosion.

Petersburg Blast Video

One 25-second video depicts Tatarsky getting an unexpected present alongside the event's host. A video depicts the blogger removing the statuette from its packaging; it is a little figure painted gold and sporting a replica of his military helmet.

The camera then moves to a woman in the crowd, believed to be Trepova. Russian official media TASS said, "preliminarily, Trepova handed Tatarsky an explosive figure" in the café.

A witness stated that Trepova delivered the statuette to the event's host before leaving the room. Another film, recorded from further back in the room, purports to show Trepova and Tatarsky interacting before the explosion.

Tatarsky names her Nastya at one point, which is not her true name. She turns to return to her place in the rear of the room when the statuette is delivered, but Tatarsky asks her to sit towards the front, which she does. The explosion ripped through the structure, shattering the cafe's windows and facade, as shown by security cameras recording outside.

Trepova was also shown on video smiling as she entered an apartment building, while her husband claimed that Russia set her up. She is suspected of bringing a bomb-filled hollowed-out statue into a café where a Kremlin propagandist was conducting a meeting.

According to Russian counter-terror officials, Trepova is an "active supporter" of the Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation, opposing Vladimir Putin. According to Mirror, the Federal Security Service (FSB) captured her partial confession on film Monday. An FSB officer asks her in the video if she knows why she was arrested.