Woman Arrested As Suspect In Murder of Russian Pro-War Blogger

In connection with the military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky’s killing on Sunday at a cafe in St. Petersburg, a female anti-war activist from Russia has been jailed.

Darya Trepova, 26, is the lady in question; she is accused of giving Tatarsky a tiny statue of himself at the café, which is said to have held 450 grams of TNT. Minutes later, the box that had been set on the table next to him exploded up. Trepova is purportedly seen in pictures taken at the scene handing the man the box as he enters the cafe.

At the time of the incident, Tatarsky was giving a speech at a political gathering held at the Street Food No 1 cafe. The pro-war blogger was killed by the explosion, and 32 other people were hurt.

Darya Trepova is heard admitting she handed over a figurine that later blew up in a video that the authorities published, which was probably filmed under duress. She does not, however, claim to have known there would be an explosion in the video that was made public or to have played any other part.

According to a video of the interrogation that the Russian Interior Ministry released, this is what happened. Trepova claimed that she was detained “for being present at the site of Vladlen Tatarsky’s murder.” 

“May I tell you later, please?” she requested when asked who presented it to her.

Russian media claimed that Ms. Trepova was held in a St. Petersburg apartment owned by a friend of her husband. She apparently spent a few days in detention on the day of Russia’s complete invasion last year because she took part in a war protest.

Trepova and her husband Dmitry Rylov were detained after the special operation in Ukraine began because they had taken part in protests that had been planned during the conflict’s early phases. Rylov and his wife intended to leave Russia after partial mobilization was implemented there. Moskovsky Komsomolets sources claim that Trepova asked a friend to draft a document outlining her intention to leave the country while continuing to conduct business in Russia in the middle of March. In fact, according to certain sources, it seems the young woman has set up a personal business to sell apparel and accessories.

Trepova is charged with carrying out the murder with assistance from the Ukrainian security services and “operatives” connected to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to Russian anti-terror investigators. They provided no proof, though, connecting Trepova to the murder.

Uncertainty surrounds Tatarsky’s death, although it bears similarities to the murder of Darya Dugina, a strong war supporter and the daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist. Last August, she perished in a vehicle bombing strike close to Moscow.

Glamour Adah

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