Russian investigators said Monday that they had detained a suspect over the killing of pro-war Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed in an explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg yesterday.
A woman named Daria Trepova — who has previously been detained for taking part in antiwar rallies, according to media reports — was detained "on suspicion of involvement in the explosion." Russian authorities later released a video in which she was seen being questioned about the incident.
More than 30 people were injured as a result of the explosion, which occurred after Tatarsky, a guest speaker at the cafe, was allegedly presented with a figurine by Trepova. In the video, which could have been recorded under duress, Trepova said she had carried the figurine into the cafe but refused to say who gave it to her to do so.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has appealed his arrest on espionage charges, Russian state media reported.
In Ukraine, officials have denied a claim made by the head of the Wagner Group of mercenaries fighting in Bakhmut that the group's units had technically captured the town.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company, claimed Sunday that his units were about to hoist the Russian flag on the town's administration building and that "legally" his forces had captured Bakhmut.