A Russian judge has sentenced Darya Trepova to 27 years in prison for a bomb attack on a well-known military blogger in St. Petersburg. She had given Vladlen Tatarsky a statue in April that exploded.
The attack took place in a cafe in St. Petersburg during a meeting about the war in Ukraine. Forty-year-old blogger Tatarsky was an outspoken supporter of the Russian invasion.
Trepova, 26, pretended the statue was a gift for Tatarsky, but a bomb was hidden inside. The explosion killed Tatarsky and injured dozens.
Trepova admits that she gave the statue to Tatarsky, but states that she did not know it contained a bomb. The opponents of the war would have thought it contained listening devices. She gave the statue to Tatarsky on behalf of a man from Ukraine. This man is said to have given her money and instructions a few months before the attack.
After the explosion, Trepova panicked and called a friend to take shelter with him. In doing so, she ignored the instructions of her contact person. He told her to go to the airport and get on a plane. Trepova was arrested within 24 hours of the attack.
Tatarsky was one of the most influential military bloggers in Russia. He had more than 560,000 followers on the Telegram platform. President Vladimir Putin honored him with an award after his death.
