Death of a Soldier and Injury of 15 Others in Explosion in Saint Petersburg

The Russian news agency TASS reported that one person was killed and 15 others injured following an explosion in a cafe in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Russian news agencies stated that the well-known military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in the explosion at a cafe in the city on Sunday. Agencies cited the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirming Tatarsky's death and the injury of 16 people. Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, has over 560,000 followers on Telegram and is one of the most influential military bloggers who commented on Russia's war in Ukraine. He was among the hundreds invited to a large ceremony hosted by the Kremlin last September to announce Russia's annexation of four regions in Ukraine, a move condemned by most countries at the United Nations as illegal. The emergency service reported that the explosion was caused by a 200-gram explosive device planted in the "Street Bar" café. The prosecutor of Saint Petersburg, Viktor Melnik, arrived at the explosion site.