Russian investigators said they have arrested the main suspect in the assassination of the pro-war Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.
Mr Tatarsky, whose real name is Max Fomin, was killed on Sunday after a bomb explosion at a cafe in Saint Petersburg.
The blast also injured at least 32 people, 24 of whom have been taken to hospital for treatment. Reports say 10 are in a serious condition.
Daria Trepova, 26, had emerged as as key suspect in the murder and her apartment was raided early this morning by OMON special police units.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has now confirmed that she has been detained by the police.
In a statement issued moments ago, they said: “On suspicion of involvement in the explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg, employees of the Russian Investigative Committee, together with operational services, detained Daria Trepova.”
Her arrest follows the release of a video which appears to show Ms Trepova walking to the Street Food No 1 cafe and carrying a box containing what may have been a small statue containing 450g of TNT.
The 26-year-old has a track record of opposing the military campaign in Ukraine and was arrested on February 26 after taking part in an anti-war protest called “Bloody Mistress”.
Witnesses said that Trepova had approached the pro-war blogger in the moments leading up to the explosion.
According to their testimony, she told Tatarsky she had brought a sculpture of him and wanted to give it to him as a present.
However, security personnel asked her to leave it at the door of the cafe, suspecting it could be a bomb.
Tatarsky laughed and told her to go and fetch it, which she did, before presenting the bust to the pro-war blogger. He then placed it on a table nearby.
The explosion happened within three to five minutes after the exchange between the two, resulting in the death of the pro-war activist.
Reports say Trepova, whose boyfriend Dmitry Rylov is a member of the so-called Russian Liberation Army, was booked on to a flight from Saint Petersburg last night.
The destination remains a secret, however it has been suggested she was planning to travel to Georgia via Turkey.
Many Russians moved to Georgia following last year’s military draft for the war in Ukraine.
Trepova, a former shop worker in St Petersburg, reportedly messaged a friend and said: “I could have died there, I’d rather have died there, I was set up.”
Investigators claim to have identified a second suspect in the bombing and have named her as Maria Yaran, 40.
She is reportedly in hospital in St Petersburg following the bombing.
Russian experts have speculated that the murder of Tatarsky may have been intended as a warning to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin, the Wagner boss, has been embroiled in a bitter power struggle with Russia’s Defence Ministry and military chiefs.
In particular, he has repeatedly attacked Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and Russia’s top General Valery Gerasimov for their conduct of the war in Ukraine.
Yesterday’s bomb attack took place at a restaurant that used to belong to Prigozhin.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think-tank, say the location of the attack is significant, given that Tatarsky had attended a previous event earlier in the day without incident.
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