After an assassination attempt on a military blogger in St. Petersburg, the Russian judiciary has charged a suspect who has since been arrested with terrorism. The 26-year-old is said to have given an explosive-filled bust to Vladlen Tatarski, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, in a Petersburg café on orders from Ukraine.
Russia’s investigative committee said on Tuesday: “Fomin died in the explosion that followed, and more than 30 people who were in the café suffered various injuries.” The pro-Kremlin blogger was a radical supporter of the war against Ukraine. The attack took place on Sunday in the café owned by the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Tatarski, who called for the “total annihilation of Ukraine,” wanted to talk about his experiences as a war reporter in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine.
If convicted of terrorism, she faces life imprisonment. A court in Moscow on Tuesday ordered the suspects to be held in custody until June 2nd. In an interrogation video released by the Russian Interior Ministry, the woman admitted to having presented the figurine to Tatarski. However, she did not admit to murder plans. Her husband explained that his wife had assumed that a bug had been fixed in the bust in order to eavesdrop on Tatarski. Ukraine has denied allegations of involvement in the case.