Russian authorities said Sunday a car bomb killed the adult daughter of Alexander Dugin, a national political theorist and staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Daria Dugina, a 29-year-old television commentator who also supported Moscow’s offensive, was killed Saturday when the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving exploded as she was returning from a cultural festival she had attended with her father.
Analyst Sergei Markov, a former Putin adviser, told the Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti that Dugin, not his daughter, was probably the intended target. Markov said, "It's completely obvious that the most probable suspects are Ukrainian military intelligence and the Ukrainian Security Service."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied any Ukrainian involvement in the explosion.
Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said, "We are not a criminal state, unlike Russia, and definitely not a terrorist state."
An ultranationalist, Dugin is a prominent proponent of the "Russian world" concept espoused by Putin, a spiritual and political ideology that emphasizes traditional values, restoration of Russia's power and the unity of all ethnic Russians throughout the world. Dugin is often referred to as “Putin’s brain.”
Some Russian media reports cited witnesses as saying that the SUV Dugina was driving belonged to her father but that he had decided at the last minute to travel in another vehicle.
The United States sanctioned Dugina in March for her work as chief editor of United World International, a website that the U.S. has described as a disinformation source. The sanctions announcement cited a United World article this year that contended Ukraine would "perish" if it were admitted to NATO.
Ukraine has often expressed interest in joining NATO, the West’s main military alliance, but delayed such aspirations while the war with Russia nears its six-month mark this week. Sweden and Finland are in the process of joining NATO.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press.
