Russia: Explosion in St Petersburg cafe kills military blogger

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St Petersburg, Russia where a prominent military blogger was killed and more than a dozen people were injured. Photo / AP

An explosion tore through a cafe in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Sunday, and preliminary reports suggested a prominent military blogger was killed and more than a dozen people were injured.

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 15 people were hurt in the explosion at the “Street Bar” cafe in Russia’s second-largest city. The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility or provide details of what they called an “explosive device” carried by a cafe visitor.

Moment the blast hits the cafe Vladlen Tatarsky was reportedly holding a meeting at. pic.twitter.com/pG5H3ymqZn

— doge (@IntelDoge) April 2, 2023

Russia media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public and that a woman presented him with a statuette that apparently exploded.

The building’s facade was reportedly damaged.

Various fires and explosions have occurred in Russia since the fighting in Ukraine began February 24, 2022, without any clear indication of a connection to the conflict.

Tatarsky had filed regular reports from Ukraine as well as the Kremlin. Tatarsky is the pen name for Maxim Fomin who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel. He was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

Video shot in the St Petersburg cafe show pro-Kremlin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky being presented with a statue before the explosion.

After the Kremlin’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine last year, Tatarsky posted a video in which he vowed: “That’s it. We’ll defeat everybody, kill everybody, rob everybody we need to. It will all be the way we like it. God be with you.”

Many countries have condemned the annexation as illegal.