The killing of the daughter of neofascist intellectual Alexander Dugin, sometimes known as ‘Putin’s Brain,’ shocked top Kremlin officials as Ukraine shifts momentum in the war.
By Paul D. Shinkman Senior Writer, National Security • Aug. 23, 2022, at 2:55 p.m.
Russia’s top diplomat pledged “no mercy” for the perpetrators of a car bomb attack that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a close ultranationalist adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Though Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the investigation is ongoing into the Saturday evening attack on the outskirts of Moscow that killed the daughter of fascist intellectual Alexander Dugin, other top Russian officials were quick to blame Kyiv, particularly Ukrainian intelligence. American officials have likewise stated that they predicted Moscow would inevitably target Ukraine for retaliation.
The startling death of a member of Moscow’s elite appears to have rattled top Russian officials at a time Ukraine has gained some momentum six months after Putin ordered the invasion, including a string of explosions at Russian military facilities in Crimea – territory Moscow previously considered safe havens.
I cannot judge what it was – an act of intimidation or settling scores,” Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday morning about the attack, according to a translation of his remarks. “This was a barbaric crime for which there is no forgiveness.”
He noted the FSB Russian security service is conducting the investigation.
And though it is ongoing, he added, “Of course, there can be no mercy” for the perpetrators, those who ordered it and those who benefit from it.
It is not immediately clear that Dugina herself was the intended target. The 29-year-old journalist, who was leaving an event on the outskirts of Moscow when her car exploded, reportedly shared the same expansionist foreign policy designs that her father – known by some as “Putin’s brain” – has encouraged the Russian leader to pursue.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. response to the attack, specifically State Department spokesman Ned Price’s assertion at a press conference late Monday.
“I have no doubt that the Russians will investigate this. I also have no doubt that the Russians will put forward certain conclusions,” Price said, implying that Moscow would blame Ukraine regardless of the findings. “All I can say from here is that Ukraine has denied any involvement, and for our part, we condemn the intentional targeting of civilians anywhere.”
Other Russian officials emphatically framed Ukraine as the perpetrator and emphasized the need for the Kremlin to begin exacting new punishments against it.