MOSCOW: Russia on Monday detained a 26-year-old woman after an explosion that killed a top Russian military blogger, saying the attack was orchestrated by Ukraine with help from supporters of jailed critic Alexei Navalny.

Ukraine has blamed Russia’s domestic in-fighting for the blast in a Saint Petersburg cafe that wounded more than 30 people and killed Vladlen Tatarsky, an active promoter of the Ukraine offensive.

The Russian Investigative Committee released a video of the arrest of 26-year-old Darya Trepova, who they said “holds opposition views and is a supporter of the Anti-Corruption Foundation,” referring to Navalny’s banned organisation.

The footage shows a young blond woman getting in an elevator with a suitcase and then cuts to her being led into a room by men dressed in dark uniforms.

Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that Trepova had been arrested for 10 days for taking part in a protest on February 25, 2022, a day after the launch of the offensive in Ukraine.

The Russian interior ministry also published a video of Trepova in which she is heard saying she brought a statuette that exploded to the cafe.

Asked on camera who gave it to her, the Russian national said she would answer “later”.

“The terrorist attack was planned by Ukrainian security services with the help of agents working with the so-called Anti-Corruption Foundation,” Russia’s anti-terror committee said. A spokeswoman for Navalny’s foundation rejected the accusation.

“Alexei will soon be on trial for extremism. He is facing 35 years. The Kremlin thought: ‘It’s great to be able to add the terrorism charge’,” Kira Yarmysh said.

Tatarsky was reportedly killed after receiving a gift statuette rigged with an explosive device during a talk at “Street Food Bar No. 1”, located along the Neva river not far from the historic city centre.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2023