US believes Ukraine was behind assassination of Vladimir Putin ally’s daughter

The Kyiv government is responsible for killing Daria Dugina, US spy agencies have concluded

Daria Dugina with her father, Aleksander Dugin.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Ukraine was responsible for the August assassination outside Moscow of the daughter of a prominent far-right wing Russian ideologue, a US official says.

The US was not aware beforehand of the operation that killed Daria Dugina, the official said, and Washington has formally complained about it to Ukraine’s government.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has backed Ukraine with billions in military aid since Russia’s February 24 invasion of the country, but has long urged Kyiv not to take steps that could risk a direct US-Russia confrontation. The US, for example, shares intelligence to help the Ukrainian war effort, but not information that could lead to the targeting of senior Russian officials.

Ms Dugina was killed in August when the vehicle she was driving exploded outside Moscow as a result of what the Russian government said was a bomb placed inside. She was the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, who for years has called on Russia to re-establish its empire by seizing Ukraine.

Alexander Dugin at a farewell ceremony for his daughter at the Ostankino TV centre in Moscow in August. Picture: AFP

The US intelligence assessment was first reported by the New York Times. Ukraine’s embassy in Washington, the CIA and the White House’s National Security Council declined to comment.

Ukraine has previously denied involvement in Ms. Dugina’s death. If it was the work of Ukrainian agents as the US intelligence assessment concludes, it would demonstrate Kyiv’s ability to conduct covert operations inside Russia.

Shortly after the incident, Russia’s Federal Security Service blamed Ukraine for Ms Dugina’s killing, saying investigators had established “the crime was prepared and committed by the Ukrainian special services, ” and identified the perpetrator as a Ukrainian woman.

It couldn’t be determined whether US intelligence agencies believe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a close Washington ally, was aware of the plans to kill Ms Dugina, or which parts of Ukraine’s government US spy agencies have concluded were responsible.

Sabotage and covert operations have become a part of the Ukraine conflict. Ukraine has reportedly carried out such operations in Russian-controlled Crimea, while NATO has said that a series of leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Europe were the result of sabotage, without naming a suspect.

The Wall Street Journal