A military blogger killed in an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg posted “it would be nice” if Russian forces were armed with drones hours before he died.
Russian Vladlen Tatarsky, real name Maxim Fomin, was said to have been giving a lecture when he died in the incident in the city, which also injured 16 other people, earlier today.
Law enforcement agents told Russian news agency TASS "an improvised explosive device went off in a cafe in St Petersburg was stuffed with submunitions."
A small improvised device was said to have been hidden in a statue presented to the blogger as a gift moments before it exploded in the Street Bar cafe.
His last post, sent at 2pm UK time, read: “On the preparation for the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Together with the appearance of shock drone companies in the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the release of special fragmentation projectiles for drones with a declared kill zone of 11 meters significantly increase the capabilities of infantry during the assault on strongholds.
“The only negative is the weather conditions, which do not always allow drone launches.
“It would be nice if such units with toys appeared in the RF Armed Forces, this would reduce the consumption of ammunition and make it easier to complete tasks at the tactical level.”
Russian media reported Mr Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public when a woman presented him with a statuette carrying the explosive device.
An eyewitness said: "Suddenly the explosive wave erupted, smoke was everywhere, and people ran I ran out into the street.
“When I went back to look for my phone, I saw three or four lying on the floor.”
Russia's Tass news agency said the blogger had been filing text and video reports from Ukraine as well as from the Kremlin.
Another witness said claimed a woman known as Nastya approched the blogger with the gift ahead of the explosion.
They added: "She said she was an artist and wanted to show the heroes of Putin’s special military operation."
She purportedly told Tatarskiy: “It’s not easy. That's why I've only made your bust so far. It's in the coat wardrobe [at the entrance of the cafe].”
She went there, took a big box, and gave it to him, it was gilded, he said thank you and put it next to him.
“She sat down in her place, and three minutes later there was an explosion.
“Everyone was running."
Last year Tatarsky said in the Kremlin last year: "We will defeat everyone, we will kill everyone, we will rob everyone as necessary.
"Just as we like it."
Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov said of his death: “Fomin is a former citizen of Ukraine, sentenced in 2011 to 12 years in prison for an armed robbery of a bank in the Donbas.
“He was released from the zone in 2014 by Russian troops, under the obligation to fight against Ukraine.
“Fomin did not sit long in the trenches and became a blogger and one of the symbols of the Russian occupation.
“ Fomin was invited on December 22 to Putin's speech in the Kremlin among the representatives of the Russian elite.
“His liquidation is a serious blow to Russian propaganda.
“Fomin was killed on the spot."
