An explosion has torn through a cafe in St Petersburg, with reports suggesting a prominent military blogger was killed and dozens more were injured.

Iran PressEurope: Blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was reportedly killed and 16 people were hurt in the explosion at the Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe in Russia's second-largest city.

The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility or provide details beyond saying that a cafe visitor carried an “explosive device."

Russia's Interior Ministry said everyone at the cafe at the time of the blast was being “checked for involvement.”

Russian media and military bloggers said Mr. Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public and that a woman presented him with a box containing a statuette of soldiers that apparently exploded.

Since the fighting in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, various fires and explosions have occurred in Russia without any clear connection to the conflict.

Russia's Tass news agency said Mr Tatarsky, using various pseudonyms, had been filing text and video reports from Ukraine as well as from the Kremlin.

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