MOSCOW: Russia on Monday detained a young woman after an explosion killed a top Russian military blogger and wounded dozens, claiming the bombing attack was orchestrated by Ukraine with the help of supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Ukraine has blamed Russia鈥檚 domestic infighting for the blast in a Saint Petersburg cafe that on Sunday wounded more than 30 people and killed Vladlen Tatarsky, a high-profile supporter of Moscow鈥檚 assault on Ukraine.
The attack came after Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultranationalist intellectual, was last August killed in a car bombing outside Moscow that Russia also blames on Ukraine.
Russia鈥檚 Investigative Committee and the National Anti-terrorism Committee both said pro-Navalny activists were behind the latest attack.
The Investigative Committee released a video of the arrest of 26-year-old Darya Trepova, who it said 鈥渉olds opposition views and is a supporter of the Anti-Corruption Foundation,鈥� referring to Navalny鈥檚 banned organization.
Political observers said the bombing attack could be used to justify a further crackdown on critics of Moscow鈥檚 offensive in Ukraine.
Navalny鈥檚 spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said the attack could also be used to accuse the jailed opposition politician of new crimes.
鈥淎lexei will soon be on trial for extremism,鈥� Yarmysh wrote, adding that he faced 35 years in prison.
鈥淭he Kremlin thought: 鈥業t鈥檚 great to be able to add the terrorism charge鈥�.鈥�
The Kremlin condemned the 鈥渢errorist attack鈥� and said 鈥渢here is evidence... that the Ukrainian special services may be related to its organization.鈥�
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists he was too busy focusing on his own country to pay attention to the attack in Saint Petersburg.
Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was reportedly killed after receiving a statuette rigged with explosives during a talk at 鈥淪treet Food Bar No. 1,鈥� located along the Neva River not far from the historic city center.
The 40-year-old, who hailed from the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, fought alongside pro-Kremlin separatists and then became a popular military blogger with half a million followers on social media.
At a Kremlin ceremony announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian regions last September Tatarsky recorded himself saying: 鈥淲e will defeat everyone. We will kill everyone. We will rob everyone as necessary. Just as we like it.鈥�

President Vladimir Putin posthumously bestowed a top award, the Order of Courage, on Tatarsky citing his 鈥渃ourage and bravery shown during professional duty,鈥� said a Kremlin decree on Monday.
Russians placed flowers at a makeshift memorial in Saint Petersburg to honor the blogger, who served prison time before joining the pro-Kremlin separatists.
Igor Ivanov, an 18-year-old student, said he was shocked and added he closely followed Tatarsky. 鈥淭his is a heavy loss,鈥� he said.
Vladislav Andreev, 27, compared Tatarsky鈥檚 death to the bombing attack on Dugina.
鈥淭hese people will stop at nothing,鈥� he said.
The footage released by the Investigative Committee showed a young blond woman getting in an elevator with a suitcase and then cut to her being led into a room by men dressed in dark uniforms.
The Russian interior ministry also published a video of Trepova in which she was heard saying she had brought a statuette that exploded to the Saint Petersburg cafe.
Asked on camera who gave it to her, the Russian national said she would answer 鈥渓ater.鈥�
鈥淭he terrorist attack was planned by Ukrainian security services with the help of agents working with the so-called Anti-Corruption Foundation,鈥� said Russia鈥檚 National Anti-terrorism Committee.

At least 100 people reportedly attended the event when the bombing attack took place on Sunday.
Alisa Smotrova, who was at the cafe, told AFP:
鈥淭hey put (the figurine) somewhere in the back without a second thought... and all of a sudden there was an explosion.
鈥淭here was blood and pieces of glass,鈥� she added.
The head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said the venue used to belong to him.
Prigozhin said on social media that he 鈥済ave the cafe to patriotic movement Cyber Front Z and they organized various seminars there.鈥�
Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself on social media as 鈥淩ussia鈥檚 information troops,鈥� said it had hired out the venue for the evening.
Prigozhin said his forces hoisted the Russian flag with an inscription honoring the deceased blogger over the city administration of frontline hotspot of Bakhmut, which Wagner claimed to have seized.
On Sunday evening Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak suggested that the attack had taken place as a result of infighting in Russia.
鈥淭he question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time,鈥� he said on Twitter.
The Russian foreign ministry on Sunday paid homage to the blogger and his 鈥渟ervice to the Fatherland, which aroused Kyiv鈥檚 hatred.鈥�