Russia detains an anti-war protestor after an explosion that killed a hawkish blogger

Russian authorities have detained a 26-year-old anti-war protester, Daria Trepova, claiming she was involved in the blast that killed Vladlen Tatarsky at a cafe in St. Petersburg on Sunday. Trepova's husband, Dmitry Rylov, has told an independent Russian publication that he is convinced she was set up. Russia's National Anti Terrorism Committee (NAC) claimed the explosion involved agents of the Ukrainian special services and associates of the jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Ivan Zhdanov, a long-time associate of Navalny, said the accusation was an attempt to prolong Navalny's jail term. The Kremlin has claimed that Ukraine may be behind the murder of Tatarsky, describing his killing as a "terrorist attack".

Witnesses reported that Daria Trepova was set up and used to give a gift to Tatarsky, who supported the war in Ukraine. Tatarsky had gained popularity since the start of Russia's "special military operation" by providing analysis and commentary. US and Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia has planned "false flag" attacks inside Russian territory. Maxim Fomin, known as Tatarsky, created his Telegram channel in 2019 in honor of Victor Pelevin's novel "Generation 'P" and wrote several books. He had more than half a million followers on Telegram and was aggressively pro-war.

He gained prominence after attending the ceremony marking the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions. Sunday's blast has echoes of the car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of Alexander Dugin.