Russia arrests woman over death of top military blogger

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 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.