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The daughter of an ultranationalist Russian ideologue believed to have had a strong influence on Vladimir Putin has been killed in a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Darya Dugina, daughter of Russian political commentator Alexander Dugin, died when the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving was ripped apart by a powerful explosion about 20km west of the capital at about 9.30pm local time.
The blast occurred near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy just outside Moscow, according to investigators.
Witnesses said debris was thrown all over the road as the car was engulfed in flames before crashing into a fence, according to reports.
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“An explosive device allegedly installed in a Toyota Land Cruiser car went off at full speed on a public highway, and then the car caught fire,” wrote the Investigative Committee in its report. “The female driver died on the spot. The identity of the deceased has been established: it is the journalist and political scientist Darya Dugina.”
Andrey Krasnov, a friend of Dugina and the head of the Russian Horizon social movement, confirmed the reports, according to the news agency Tass.
He said that the bomb could have been intended for her father.
“This was the father’s vehicle. Darya was driving another car but she took his car today, while Alexander went in a different way. He returned, he was at the site of the tragedy. As far as I understand, Alexander or probably they together were the target,” Krasnov said.
The media outlet 112 also claimed that Dugin and his daughter had been at an event outside Moscow and had been due to travel back together until he decided to go separately at the last minute.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show him at the scene in a state of distress.
A number of pro-Kremlin officials immediately blamed Kyiv for the blast. Margarita Simonyan, the head of the state-funded RT television station, wrote that “they blew up Dugin’s daughter” and called for attacks against the “decision-making centres” in Kyiv.
The head of the self-proclaimed, Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin , wrote on his Telegram channel that Dugina had been killed and blamed the Ukrainian government.
“Vile villains! The terrorists of the Ukrainian regime, trying to eliminate Alexander Dugin, blew up his daughter… In a car. Blessed memory of Daria, she is a real Russian girl!”
Dugin is known for developing an extreme rightwing view of Russia’s place in the world. He has been described as a “Russian fascist” who has helped shape Vladimir Putin’s expansionist foreign policy.
Both Dugin and his daughter have been sanctioned by the UK and US for acting to destabilise Ukraine. In its filing, the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation called Dugina a “frequent and high-profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine and the Russian invasion of Ukraine on various online platforms”.
The US treasury department sanctioned her as the chief editor for the website United World International, which it claimed was owned by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin. – Guardian