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Russian journalists are facing threats of reprisals from Kiev, which are tacitly ignored by specialized international structures, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Sunday, commenting on the death of Russian military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky.

"Russian journalists are under constant threats of reprisals from the Kiev regime and its masterminds [...] They are harassed, literally branded with special markings on the digital platforms of US Internet monopolies, and subjected to a ‘witch hunt' in the Western media," Zakharova said in a statement.

This comes after Vladlen Tatarsky, a war reporter, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in the heart of Saint Petersburg, Russia, according to the Russian Interior Ministry.

"At 6:13 p.m. [15:13 GMT] the police of the Vasileostrovsky District received information that an explosion had occurred at a cafe at 25 Universitetskaya Embankment. As a result of the incident one person died, he was identified as military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. Sixteen people were injured, and they are being examined by medical personnel," the ministry said.

Officials from the Russian Interior Ministry have been sent to the area. The causes and circumstances of the event are being determined, the ministry said, and St. Petersburg police officers and emergency services are also on the scene.

It seems that an explosive device was brought to the cafe by a young woman who had a statuette in a box, meant as a gift to Tatarsky.

"All of this is being silently ignored by specialized international agencies, which can no longer be interpreted as acquiescence if not complicity," the spokesperson added.

Furthermore, Moscow criticized a lack of reaction from Western countries, international organizations, and other bodies.

"Not a single case of the violent death of a Russian journalist hailed as a 'success' by the Kiev regime and its insurgents, has been investigated by Western countries, international organizations, or foreign professional communities, and not even basic human sympathy has been shown," the statement further read.

Finally, the ministry expressed sincere condolences to Tatarsky's family and friends.

Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed late Sunday that an unidentified explosive device went off in a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg.

"There was an explosion of an unknown explosive device on the premises of a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg," the committee said.

Preliminary reports said 15 were injured in the explosion, but the latest tally says 19 have been injured so far, with the committee adding that a criminal investigation had been launched under Article 105 of the Criminal Code.

Later in the day, St. Petersburg Mayor Alexander Beglov said that the number of injured has grown to 25, 19 of which were hospitalized. The official added that the city has the necessary resources to assist the victims.

Meanwhile, the Russian Health Ministry said that 24 victims have been taken to hospitals. Six of them are in serious condition, while the conditions of 18 others, including a teenager, were moderate to mild, the ministry detailed.

The murder of Darya Dugina

On August 21, a large explosion tore into an SUV on a highway 20 km away west of Moscow, instantly killing its driver, who was identified as political commentator Darya Dugina, Russian political analyst and thinker Alexander Dugin's daughter. Dugin the father is an influential veteran political commentator, also known as one of the Kremlin's "ideological masterminds", and an occasional contributor to Al Mayadeen English.

The assassination was carried out at 21:35 Moscow time. Witnesses divulged that the explosion happened in the middle of the road, where debris and metal wreckage scattered in the air right before the car crashed into a fence, according to photos and videos.

Darya Dugina was killed in a car bombing prepared and executed by Ukraine's special services, The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the next day.

The Russian Investigative Committee determined that an explosive device was hidden beneath the car's floor on the driver's side. The FSB revealed that Ukrainian citizen Vovk Natalya was behind the murder. 

"The crime was prepared and committed by the Ukrainian special services. The performer is a citizen of Ukraine Vovk Natalya ... born in 1979, who arrived in Russia on July 23, 2022, together with her daughter ... In order to organize the murder of D. Dugina and obtain information about her lifestyle, they rented an apartment in Moscow in the house where the deceased lived," the FSB said.  

The United States intelligence agencies believe that bodies pertaining to the Ukrainian government have authorized the car bomb attack which killed Dugina. The US officials providing the information in question divulged it to The New York Times.