Moscow | Russian authorities accused Ukraine on Monday (Tuesday AEST) of assassinating an ultranationalist commentator as figures in Russia’s pro-war camp clamoured for retaliation, highlighting the growing domestic political pressure that President Vladimir Putin is facing six months after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

The swift claim by Russia’s domestic intelligence agency to have solved the crime, and the heated demands for vengeance, pointed to the expanding influence of Russia’s ultranationalist hawks, who celebrated Mr Putin’s war and have since grown frustrated that the Kremlin is trying to maintain a sense of normalcy at home rather than putting the nation on a war footing.