Paragraphs describing the St. Petersburg incident and the ensuing legal and investigative actions are presented with a focus on official statements and ongoing inquiries. The Federal Security Service (FSB) contends that the April 3 attack in St. Petersburg was planned with involvement from Ukrainian intelligence and its supporters, including Russian dissidents abroad. The agency identified Yuriy Denisov, a 35-year-old Ukrainian citizen, and Daria Trepova among those connected to the operation, characterizing Denisov as a member of a Ukrainian sabotage and terrorist group. The claim states that Denisov arrived in Russia from Kyiv in February 2023 by order of Ukrainian services, traveling through Latvia, and that in Russia he gathered information about the life and movements of Vladlen Tatarsky, now understood to be Maxim Fomin, the military commentator who died in the attack. It is alleged that Denisov rented a residence near Tatarsky’s usual routes and secured a vehicle to facilitate the operation (FSB report).
According to the FSB, Denisov, aided by an intermediary using an express-delivery service, supplied Trepova with an explosive device designed to resemble a plaster bust of a military commissioner, enabling Trepova to convene and detonate the device during the event. After the assault, the FSB states that Denisov departed Russia for Turkey via Armenia, and steps were initiated to place him on an international wanted list. The agency released documents and a video showing Denisov at the border and a photograph of the suspected vehicle (FSB report).
The FSB’s narrative also links the perpetrator, Daria Trepova, to Navalny’s broader political movement, noting that Trepova is associated with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which is listed as a foreign agent in Russia. It is claimed that Trepova acted under the influence of leaders within the FBK, including Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, who are identified as foreign agents in the Russian Federation. Trepova is said to be registered with the Smart Voting project associated with the FBK (FSB report).
The agency asserts that, after the escalation of military operations, leaders and affiliates made public statements urging subversive activities against Russia, aiming to alter the constitutional order by any means available. The investigation into the attack remains ongoing, and the FSB asserts that all organizers and accomplices will be held accountable (FSB press release).
What is known about the explosion
The attack occurred at the Patriot bar along Universitetskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg on April 2 during a gathering that included Vladlen Tatarsky and supporters from the Cyber Z Front club. Local medical authorities reported that forty individuals sought medical assistance, including three minors. The following day, Trepova was detained on charges related to terrorist acts and illegal explosives trafficking (FSB press materials).
Interrogation materials cited by Fontanka describe Trepova accepting an explosive figurine delivered by a Moscow taxi driver, who, according to the publication, acted as a courier for a curator. The device was activated remotely while Trepova was present with other participants. Fontanka notes that the courier did not know the contents of the package but anticipated a harmful outcome (Fontanka report, cited in FSB materials).
On April 4, Trepova was remanded to a pre-trial detention center. Prosecutors indicted her on charges of organizing a terrorist act and illegal possession of explosives. That same day, an assertion emerged that the National Republican Army (NRA) claimed responsibility for the St. Petersburg attack, stating they carried it out themselves without direct affiliation to any foreign organization or service. The NRA had previously claimed responsibility for the 2022 murder of Daria Dugina (FSB media materials).
By April 6, the Cyber Z Front movement urged the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via the United Nations Security Council, to recognize former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev and the NRA as terrorist organizations to place them on the international wanted list (UN Security Council reference in FSB materials).