MOSCOW, April 3./TASS/. Law enforcement officers detained Darya Trepova, suspected of the murder of prominent war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, in her rented apartment, Russian Interior Ministry Spokesperson Irina Volk told TASS on Monday.
"As a result of active search measures, police officers together with their colleagues from the region’s office of the Russian FSB have detained Darya Trepova, suspected of being involved in the blast at a cafe on Universitetskaya Embankment, 25, which killed war reporter Vladlen Tatarsky, at her rented apartment," she said, adding that the suspect was being questioned.
Volk noted that by decision of the Russian Interior Ministry leadership, a group of officers from the ministry’s Main Directorate of Internal Affairs is working in St. Petersburg. They provide practical assistance to local police officers. The Interior Ministry has been put in charge of the investigation.
Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, was killed in a blast at a caf· on Sunday during an event he was hosting. Over 30 people were wounded. According to preliminary data, he was killed by an explosive device hidden in a figurine presented to him by Darya Trepova.
Late on Sunday, law enforcement officers searched Trepova’s St. Petersburg apartment, as well as questioned her mother and sister.
Investigators and criminal experts continue working at the scene. The terrorist attack against Vladlen Tatarsky was plotted by Ukrainian special services who were aided by agents cooperating with incarcerated blogger Alexey Navalny’s foundation (recognized as an extremist organization in Russia), the National Anti-Terrorism Committee told TASS earlier on Monday.
Tatarsky gained prominence in Russia as a blogger and war correspondent amid the Ukraine conflict. A Donbass native, he joined the local militia in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev back in 2014, where he served until 2019.