An improvised explosive device was allegedly camouflaged as a gift presented to the victim, Vladlen Tatarsky
War reporter Vladlen Tatarsky may have been killed by an improvised explosive device disguised as a statuette, Kirill Makarov, the youth policy minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russian media on Sunday. Tatarksy was killed earlier today by an explosion while hosting a live event for his supporters at a café.
According to several Russian media outlets, a young woman presented the figurine to the war correspondent and blogger during the event. Her identity is unknown so far. The police did not comment on this version of events. Law enforcement only confirmed that Tatarsky was killed in the blast, which also left 16 people injured.
Earlier, a source with the emergency services told TASS that an improvised explosive device was detonated near the stage in the café.
Russia’s REN TV reported, citing a witness, that the statuette blew up as Tatarsky was holding it.
According to TASS, the IED’s power was equivalent to 200 grams of TNT.
A video published by REN TV shows the moment when Tatarsky was allegedly given the bomb camouflaged as what appears to be a large bust. The footage shows, however, it was a man, not a woman, who gave the supposed gift.
Tatarsky became prominent in Russia as a blogger and war correspondent reporting on the situation in Donbass after he joined the local militias in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev in 2014. The man, who also authored several books, was hosting a live event in a St. Petersburg café on Sunday.
