Anti-war female assassin carried explosive-laden statue into St Petersburg cafe

London, April 3

A anti-war female activist suspected of assassinating one of Vladimir Putin's propagandists by carrying a statue laden with explosives into a cafe has been arrested on Monday, according to a media report.

Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was blown to pieces on Sunday after Daria Trepova (26) reportedly entered a cafe in St Petersburg and handed him a small statue of himself that was said to be laden with explosives, Daily Mail reported.

Tatarsky (40), a staunch supporter of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, had been speaking at a political event at the Street Food No 1 cafe when the bomb exploded next to him, killing the propagandist and injuring 32 others in what the Kremlin claimed was a 'terrorist attack'.

Russia's Investigative Committee said on Monday it has detained Trepova in a rented flat in St Petersburg on suspicion of carrying out the assassination. Speaking for the first time since her arrest, Trepova insisted she had been 'set up' and 'was being used'.

Russia's top counterterrorism agency claimed - without providing evidence - that Trepova had carried out the attack with the help of 'Ukrainian special services' and activists who are linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Daily Mail reported.

It came after a chilling video appeared to show Trepova, a St Petersburg resident who was previously detained for taking part in anti-war rallies, walking into the cafe carrying a box containing what may have been a statuette containing 450 gm of TNT - just minutes before it exploded, Daily Mail reported.

--IANS