UNSEEN footage captures the chilling moment a Putin ally meets his alleged killer moments before he was murdered in a devastating explosion.
Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was assassinated on Sunday after a bomb ripped through the St Petersburg cafe where he was giving a talk.
Now new video has emerged showing the pro-Putin propagandist, 40, engaging with the woman accused of his slaughter just seconds before the bomb went off.
In the video, 26-year-old Daria Trepova, who was arrested on Monday for Tatarsky's murder, can be seen backing away after handing the suspected bomb over.
The former art student appears to be trying to edge out of the room - possibly to escape the explosion - as Tatarsky asks her to sit at the front with him.
Eventually, she compromises by taking a seat near the front but to the side, several metres away from the bomb.
She can be seen raising her hands as she takes her seat in the cafe - perhaps to shield herself - moments before the screen goes dark as the bomb goes off.
On Tuesday, Trepova was officially charged with committing a "terrorist act by an organised group that caused intentional death".
Tatarsky was the only person killed in the blast, which injured some 30 people, leaving ten in a critical condition.
It isn't known how Tatarsky knew Trepova, and what reason she had given for why she was presenting him with the statuette.
Further distressing footage purports to show the exact moment the bomb - which was disguised as a statuette of Tatarsky - detonates after the blogger placed it back in its packaging.
While a third short clip shows former art student Trepova exiting the cafe moments after the explosion, as blood-soaked victims emerge from the blast.
She can be seen quietly leaving the scene in the chaotic aftermath of the attack.
It comes as pro-Putin media rushes to finger Trepova for the murder of Tatarsky, a day after she was arrested.
Russian cops are also hunting for the maker of the statuette, which was filled with TNT explosives before being delivered by Trepova.
She has claimed she was framed for the killing, although she is believed to have lied about her name.
In the clip taken seconds before Tatarsky's death, he is heard calling her "Nasty" (Anastasia) as he opens the package she had given him.
It purportedly showed the military blogger on the frontline in the war in Ukraine.
He asks her to sit near him, to which she replies: "I am too shy," before taking a seat in a chair away to the side.
Tatarsky - real name Maxim Fomin - then examines the gold-coloured statuette, exclaiming: "Oh wow! What a beautiful lad, is it me? Let's take it out..."
Appearing pleased, he goes on: "A golden Vladlen, perfect," before joking: "Thank god, I am much better looking."
As he places the statuette back in its packaging, it explodes, killing Tatarsky instantly.
What a beautiful lad, is it me?
Vladlen Tatarsky
The footage was shared by the pro-Kremlin media group 112, which has links to law enforcement and Russia's security services.
It shows Trepova - seemingly uninjured - leaving the cafe in an overcoat after briefly exchanging words with another person.
She is then alleged to have gone back to a St Petersburg apartment where she cropped her hair to try and disguise her appearance.
Authorities claim she had booked a flight to the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan as part of her escape.
But agents from the feared secret service the FSB along with officers from the Russian Investigative Committee later tracked her down and raided the apartment, handcuffing her to a radiator during their search.
Pro-military outlets have branded the explosion a "terrorist" attack, although the exact reasons for Tatarsky's assassination are unclear at this point.
Although some claim that he was killed by anti-war protesters, others allege that this may have been an attack in retaliation for his criticism of Putin's generals and the way they had fought in Ukraine.
A third group has said that the bombing may have been a false flag operation to pin the blame on suspected opposition groups.
Danilo delle Fave, military and intelligence analyst for ITSS Verona, told The Sun Online: "The current Russian leadership has used false flags on several occasions to increase the support to the government."
He pointed to the 1999 apartment bombings which were pinned on Chechen terrorists and helped to catapult the then-unknown Putin to power the following year.
Such a targeted attack could then be used to spur support for the stalling invasion of Ukraine.
He said: "We see that the current mobilization effort is sluggish, an attack in the heart of the Russian Federation could be used to influence people to join the army.
"A false flag is therefore a credible hypothesis."
Delle Fave went on: "The way in which the attack has been conducted - a bomb inside a statue - suggests that the plotters are probably a small group."
He added that the attack lacked the sophistication and planning of the assassination which killed the daughter of pro-Putin figure Alexander Dugin.
Delle Fave said that a third theory was that this was the result of infighting between the Russian security establishment and the hardliners such as Tatarsky.
Organisations such as the Wagner Group have long called for a far more extreme approach to the conflict, and have slammed the perceived caution of Russia's generals.
He said: "I think that only time will tell which of these three hypotheses is the correct one.
"In any case, we should expect an increase in these kinds of events, since the Russians are unable to achieve their objectives in Ukraine."
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