A leading Russian military blogger who supported the invasion of Ukraine has been killed in a bomb attack on a café in central St Petersburg. Vladlen Tatarsky - whose real name was Maxim Fomin - was a member of a blogging group known as Cyber Front Z, which had hired out the café for an event. Witnesses say the bomb was hidden in a statuette he was presented with.

Saint Petersburg

The Russian economy has been impacted by a raft of global sanctions as world leaders try to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian Sanctions

Prominent Russian blogger killed in café blast

This was the moment security cameras captured the attack at the busy Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe in the heart of St. Petersburg on Sunday. The explosion killed 40-year-old military blogger Vladilin Tatarskiy, who was delivering a speech at the event organized by the Cyber Front Z movement, an association of people with patriotic views. They hold talks at this cafe every week. Over 100 people were in and around this event at the time of the attack. The Donbass native was given this statue of himself as a gift moments before the blast. According to the mayor of St. Petersburg, all the city's emergency services have been called in to deal with the incident. Vladilin Tatarskiy launched his own social media channel to report on the activities of the Russian military in its so-called special military operation and has a following of over 500,000 subscribers. Tatarskiy was invited to the lavish ceremony last September at the Kremlin, where Russian president proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine. Tatarskiy was a well-known figure among Kremlin supporters, seen here with Darya Dugina, who was killed in a car bomb attack last August in Moscow region. Her father, Alexander Dugin, a far-right political philosopher and Kremlin supporter, was believed to be the intended target. The Russian foreign ministry has issued a statement condemning the attack and praising Tatarskiy's work as a journalist and his service to his country. These types of attacks are rare in Russia, but the planning and plotting behind them just prove that the battles are not confined to the Donbass region. Dorsa Chabari, Al Jazeera, Moscow.

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Jerusalem

Israel-Gaza War

Israel steps up airstrikes on Rafah ahead of ground operation

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Washington

Supreme Court weighs Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution

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Port-au-Prince

Haiti interim transition council to be sworn in

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Beirut

Israel says forces carrying out 'offensive action' in south Lebanon

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Doha

Ukraine Invasion

Russia and Ukraine to exchange dozens of displaced children

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Phoenix

U.S. Presidential Election

Giuliani indicted in election vote-rigging case

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Geographe

Mass whale stranding in southwest WA

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Kokoda

Australian Prime Minister's Kokoda pilgrimage

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Wakeley

Teenagers face court over terrorism offences

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Biden to sign law that could ban TikTok in U.S.

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London

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Sderot

U.N. calls for inquiry after unmarked graves found in Gaza

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Athens

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Council of the City of Sydney

Thousands of veterans take part in ANZAC Day marches

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Pyongyang

North Korea delegation visits Iran in rare public trip

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Berlin

Germany to resume funding UNRWA Palestinian agency

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Beijing

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Prime Minister walking the Kokoda Track

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New Delhi

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New York

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Wimereux

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Russian Sanctions