Russian military blogger killed by bomb hidden in statue given as gift - reports

The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility or provide details of what they called an “explosive device” carried by a cafe visitor

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 15 people were hurt in the explosion at the "Street Bar" cafe in Russia's second largest city. Picture: AP Photo

A prominent pro-war Russian military blogger has been killed in a blast in a cafe in central St Petersburg, Russia’s interior ministry said in a statement.

Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the country’s most influential military bloggers.