Woman who killed Russian pro-war blogger ‘thought she was auditioning for journalism job

A Russian art graduate unwittingly murdered a prominent Kremlin propagandist during a fake audition for a job in journalism, Russian media has reported.

Darya Trepova believed she was on a “propaganda resistance” test for a job at a Kyiv-based website when she handed Vladlen Tatarsky the bomb that killed him, Fontanka, a St Petersburg news site, reported.

It cited leaked transcripts of her interrogation by Russia’s FSB security service.

Russian prosecutors on Tuesday charged Ms Trepova with terrorism, two days after Tatarsky, 40, was killed in the blast.

The investigative committee, which probes major crimes, said it had charged Ms Trepova with committing “a terrorist act by an organised group that caused intentional death”. It carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

The committee said Ms Trepova had acted under instructions from people working on behalf of Ukraine.

Fontanka claimed Ms Trepova “was offered a job on a news website in Kyiv” but first had to prove “she knew how to resist Russian propaganda”.

During her arrest on Monday, the 26-year-old admitted that she had carried the bomb into the cafe. Her husband said that she was framed.

The bomb was hidden in a golden bust of Tatarsky. He was the only person killed when it exploded at a talk he was giving at the venue while more than 40 people were injured.

The Kremlin and the FSB have accused Ukrainian secret services of organising the attack. They leaked dozens of videos and photos which they said prove Ms Trepova’s guilt.

Ms Trepova is known to be a supporter of Alexander Navalny. 46, the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, and also to oppose Mr Putin’s war in Ukraine but. However, she has said that she was an unwitting bomb mule in Tatarsky’s assassination.

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