Moscow, 3 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - A Russian war blogger and correspondent has been killed in an explosion in a café in St Petersburg. A further 25 people were injured when the explosive detonated, TASS state agency reported.

The journalist and blogger, known by his pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, comes from the Donbass in eastern Ukraine. He was killed instantly, the report said.

Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, had invited people to a "patriotic evening" on Sunday at the café, Stritfud-Bar No.1, in the centre of St Petersburg, according to media reports.

According to initial findings by investigators, the explosive device was installed in a statuette that was presented to Tatarsky as a gift at the meeting.

The gift, which eyewitnesses described as a gold-plated bust of the blogger, was given to him by a young woman, local media reported. She had sat down in one of the back rows of the audience, but disappeared after the explosion. The search for the woman is under way.

The cafe was said to belong to Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads Russia's Wagner mercenary force.

The blogger and war correspondent had fought as an insurgent for the independence of the Russian-controlled Donbass region from 2014 before turning to journalism.

On his blog, he distributed videos from the front lines in Ukraine and most recently gave young Russian soldiers tips on how they should behave in the front lines.