A Russian court on Thursday sentenced Darya Trepova to 27 years in prison for her involvement in the alleged terrorist attack that killed pro-war military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maxim Fomin) in a café in the country’s second city St. Petersburg. Trepova was charged with the April 2 attack last year after the Russian authorities captured her and released a video of her alleged confession.
Trepova, 26, was convicted by a St. Petersburg court of terrorism-related charges for her role in Tatarsky’s death. Tatarsky, who had been a vocal supporter of Russia’s military action in Ukraine, was hosting a discussion with other news commentators at a café when he was killed after Trepova presented him with a statuette containing a bomb. Footage published at the time shows Trepova handing Tatarsky the statuette—a small gold figurine—out of a cardboard box. The figurine subsequently exploded, killing Tatarsky and injuring several others. Footage shared on social media shows Trepova leaving the scene moments after the explosion.
Trepova has denied having any knowledge of the bomb. Instead she has asserted that she thought the figurine contained a bug, not an explosive device. Trepova also alleged she was set up by a Ukrainian contact who she had been in touch with for several months and from whom she received money.
Several charges were leveled against the Russian national. She was charged with a terrorist attack committed by an organized group resulting in the intentional death of a person, illegal possession of explosive devices, and using forged documents. She was found guilty of all charges, TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency, reported Thursday from the courtroom.
Trepova was sentenced to 27 years in a medium-security prison with a 600,000-ruble fine (approximately $6,750) and two years probation upon release. This sentence is one of the harshest imposed on a woman in Russia’s history.
In addition to Trepova, the court also convicted Dmitry Kasintev, finding him guilty of harboring Trepova in the aftermath of the attack. He was sentenced to 21 months in a medium-security prison.
The attack on April 2 is not an isolated incident. Since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, several Russian pro-war commentators have been targeted. The Russian government previously accused Ukraine of the murder of Darya Dugina, who was killed when a bomb detonated under her car. Dugina was the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, a far-right supporter of incumbent President Vladimir Putin.
Trepova has maintained her innocence, and her legal team has shared it intends to file an appeal. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the killings.
