A pro-Putin military blogger was killed in an explosion at a cafe in Russia after a ‘woman handed him a gold statue concealing a hidden bomb.
It comes as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US secretary of state Antony Blinken it was unacceptable for Washington to politicise the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained and accused of spying in Russia.
Vladlen Tatarsky, real name Maxim Fomin– who reported from the Ukraine frontline was killed in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in an explosion that left at least 25 people were wounded.
Speaking about Russian firepower in the Kremlin last year, the 40-year-old had previously said: ‘We will defeat everyone, we will kill everyone, we will rob everyone as necessary. Just as we like it.’
There has been no indication who was responsible for the blast and Ukraine has denied involvement.
However, Russia’s state Investigative Committee said it has opened a murder investigation.
Russia media reported that Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public and that a woman presented him with a statuette that apparently exploded
Russia’s Interior Ministry said everyone at the cafe at the time of the blast was being ‘checked for involvement.’
A video showed the moment Tatarskiy was presented with the gold-coloured figurine – which appeared to depict the war propagandist.
He held it and gazed at it approvingly, moments before the explosion which killed him.
A woman said she was an artist and wanted to show the heroes of Putin’s special military operation.
She purportedly told Tatarskiy: ‘It’s not easy. That’s why I’ve only made your bust so far. It’s in the coat wardrobe [at the entrance of the cafe].’
The eyewitness said: ‘She went there, took a big box, and gave it to him.
‘It was gilded. ‘He said thank you and put it next to him.
‘She sat down in her place, and three minutes later there was an explosion.
‘Everyone was running. ‘This did not seem to have left in advance.’
BAZA media reported that the explosion was radio-activated.
This triggered the explosion in the plaster figurine.
The explosion happened despite the use of an explosives-sniffing dog at the event, it was reported.
