(Moscow) A well-known Russian military blogger was killed Sunday in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, in northwestern Russia, according to the Russian Interior Ministry.
“As a result of the incident, one person died. He […] is the military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Sixteen people were injured,” the ministry said in a statement.
The injured “are being taken care of by medical personnel”, added the same source.
“A girl” would “probably” have brought the explosive device, according to a source quoted by the Ria Novosti agency. “There was a figurine in the box: a gift intended for Mr. Tatarsky”, adds this source.
Aged 40 and born in the Ukrainian Donbass, Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was a well-known figure in the military blogosphere in Russia, with more than half a million subscribers on his Telegram channel.
According to the first elements communicated, “at 6:13 p.m. (11:13 a.m. Eastern time), the police of the Vasileostrovsky district received information that an explosion had occurred in a cafe on the Universitetskaya embankment, in number 25”.
According to details given to Tass by the local prosecutor’s office, the explosion took place in the Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe located along the Neva, not far from the historic center of Saint Petersburg.
The Cyber Front Z group, which describes itself on social media as “Russia’s information soldiers”, said they had rented the cafe for the evening.
“There was a terrorist attack. We took some security measures, but unfortunately they were not enough,” the group said on Telegram.
“St. Petersburg police and emergency services are also working on the spot. The causes and circumstances of the incident are being established,” the Russian Interior Ministry said.
The Saint Petersburg prosecutor, Viktor Melnik, went there, indicated the news agency Tass, which adds that “an investigation has been launched”.
Vladlen Tatarsky has developed his community on Telegram, in particular by publishing, since the start of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, videos analyzing the situation on the ground and providing advice for those mobilized, according to Tass.