Moscow: Russian war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was a “danger” and faced constant death threats from “the Kyiv regime and its abettors”, Foreign Ministry of Russia said following his death in an improvised explosive device blast on Sunday.
Russian journalists face constant death threats from the Kyiv regime, claimed Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She further alleged that Tatarsky “provoked the hatred of the Kyiv regime” with his professional activities.
Russian reporters are ‘persecuted’
“Russian reporters are persecuted, literally branded with special labels on digital platforms owned by American internet monopolies and are subjected to a witch hunt in the Western media,” Zakharova said on Telegram.
She further said international rights groups and organisations “silently ignore” this.
Zakharova further claimed that none of the killings of Russian reporters “are ever met with compassion in the West, while voices in Kyiv often describe them as a ‘success’.”
“The lack of reaction in the White House, on Downing Street and in the Elysee Palace… speaks for itself,” she added.
How and where Russian blogger was killed?
On Sunday, Tatarsky was hosting a live event for his supporters at the ‘Street Bar 1’ cafe in the historical centre of the Russian city of St. Petersburg. During the event, an explosion rocked the cafe in which the prominent Russian war correspondent was killed on the spot.
At least 32 others were hospitalised with various injuries, some in critical condition, said the Russian health ministry.
The intensity of the blast was so severe that it led the cafe’s façade to collapse, with 15 square meters of the glazing destroyed.
A report by TASS citied emergency services saying that the suspected improvised explosive device was equivalent to around 200 grams of TNT and was packed with shrapnel.
A criminal case over the incident has been opened by the Russian Investigative Committee and preliminary treated as a “murder in a publicly dangerous way.”
Officially it has been confirmed by the law enforcement agency that an “unidentified improvised explosive device” was detonated at the scene, but details of the incident are still being investigated.
Who was behind the explosion which killed Russian war journalist Tatarsky?
As per Russian media reports, a young woman presented a figurine to the war correspondent and blogger during the event. Her identity is unknown so far. The police have not commented on this version of events.
“The statuette blew up as Tatarsky was holding it,” a report by Russia’s REN TV citied a witness saying.
The Russian TV channel also showed the moment Tatarsky was allegedly given the bomb camouflaged as what appears to be a large bust. The footage shows, however, that it was a man, not a woman, who presented the “gift”.
Who is Vladlen Tatarsky?
Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, gained popularity in Russia as a blogger and war correspondent following his reporting on the situation in Donbass after he joined the local militias in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kyiv in 2014. He served there until 2019.
Tatarsky, who authored several books, was also known for his coverage on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. It is worth mentioning that Kiev placed sanctions on Tatarsky.
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