By John Smith, World News Editor
Cairo; Egypt (Somalistandard) – One of Russia’s most prominent pro-Kremlin war bloggers, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in an explosion at a restaurant in St Petersburg on Sunday evening.
The blast injured 25 people, with 19 of them requiring hospitalization.
Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had over 560,000 subscribers to his Telegram channel, and was meeting supporters and subscribers at the restaurant at the time of the incident.
According to local news outlet Fontanka, an unknown woman gave Tatarsky a statuette of himself that was possibly stuffed with explosives.
The Ren-TV channel posted a video allegedly showing Tatarsky examining the figurine before the explosion occurred. The Russian state investigative committee has opened a criminal case of “murder by a publicly dangerous method”.
The incident took place at around 6 pm local time on Universitetskaya Embankment, in the central part of the city. St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov confirmed Tatarsky’s death and expressed concern for the injured.
Tatarsky was known for his pro-Kremlin views and was an influential figure in Russian media. The motive for his killing is unclear, but some have speculated that it may be linked to his political views or his coverage of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The incident has been condemned by Russian authorities, with President Vladimir Putin expressing his condolences to Tatarsky’s family and calling for a thorough investigation into the incident.
The killing has also drawn international attention, with several countries calling for a transparent investigation into the matter.
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