MAD VLAD
Paranoid Putin personally ordered blogger’s assassination & will use it to crush rivals, claim Kremlin ‘insider’
PARANOID Putin personally ordered a Russian blogger's assassination and will use it to crush his rivals, a supposed Kremlin insider has claimed.
Pro-Putin propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed on Sunday after a bomb ripped through a St Petersburg café where he was giving a talk.
5
5
5
5
Prosecutors have charged Darya Trepova, 26, with terrorism offences over the murder of the pro-war military blogger.
The blast took place in a building owned by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin - sparking fresh speculation over tensions between the mercenary group and Putin's forces.
And Telegram channel General SVR - which claims to be fed information by a Kremlin insider - has now suggested Mad Vlad was behind the assassination.
The channel claimed the Russian tyrant was "pleased" with the killing of Tatarsky - and the successful hit will supposedly be used to fuel a new wave of attacks on his opponents.
Read more on the blast
"The liquidation of Tatarsky is a 'brilliant' FSB special operation, according to Putin, which went exactly according to plan," General SVR said.
"The development of the special operation and the choice of the victim were agreed with the president.
"Putin congratulated the leadership of the FSB and recommended it to continue in the same spirit."
While Tatarsky - real name was Maxim Fomin - supported Putin, he was also a vocal critic of the Kremlin's leading military commanders.
Most read in The Sun
And Putin was informed by his spies that Tatarsky was an "out of control moron military officer who only harms", General SVR claimed.
The Telegram channel's claims cannot be independently verified.
Danilo delle Fave, military and intelligence analyst for ITSS Verona, also told The Sun Online the attack could have been carried out by the FSB.
"The conquest of Bakhmut has become a matter of prestige for Wagner - if they manage to conquer the city they will put in shame the Russian army," he said.
"Since Fomin was close to Wagner, and the event was staged in a Prigozhin-owned building, it could be a message the FSB and the military have sent to Wagner.
"The bomb attack could be the result of the infighting between the Russian establishment and the hardliners that wanted to exploit the war to achieve more power inside the Russian institutions."
But Fave also suggested the assassination - likely carried out by a small group of plotters - could have also been a false flag attack to ramp up support for Putin's government.
"The current mobilisation effort is sluggish, and an attack in the heart of the Russian Federation could be used to influence people to join the army," he said.
Fave also warned: "We should expect an increase in these kind of events as the Russians are unable to achieve their objectives in Ukraine."
Former senior military intelligence officer Philip Ingram also said Tatarsky might have been killed to "send a message" to Wagner leader Prigozhin.
He also suggested it could have been carried out by Russia itself.
Ingram told Sky News Tatarsky was seen as "a part of Prigozhin's inner team" and was more supportive of the private military group than Putin's operation.
It comes after new video emerged showing the pro-Putin propogandist engaging with the woman accused of his slaughter just seconds before the bomb went off.
In the video, Trepova, who was arrested on Monday, 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 café - perhaps to shield herself - moments before the screen goes dark as the bomb goes off.
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 appears 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.
Russia's Investigative Committee said it has charged Trepova with committing "a terrorist act by an organised group that caused intentional death".
The charges carry a maximum jail term of 20 years.
It claimed she had acted under instructions from people working on behalf of Ukraine.
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee accused Ukrainian intelligence of organising the killing with help from supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Trepova's husband said he believes she had been framed and had not known the statue contained explosives.
5
Topics