My daughter’s death will herald war victory, says Putin ally

The father of Darya Dugina, who was killed in a car bomb attack, says her death will spur Vladimir Putin’s forces to victory.

Alexander Dugin at the memorial service for his daughter Daria Dugina at the Ostankino TV centre in Moscow on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

The daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher was hailed overnight on Tuesday as a “martyr” whose death in a car bombing would spur the country on to victory in Ukraine.

Darya Dugina, 29, died on Saturday night when a blast tore through her Toyota Land Cruiser Prado as she was returning from an event featuring pro-Kremlin speakers near Moscow.

It is believed that the assassins intended to kill her father, Alexander Dugin, a hardline writer whose books are thought to have influenced President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Hundreds of mourners, including senior pro-Kremlin politicians and tycoons, attended a memorial service at the Ostankino television centre in the north of Moscow. A large black and white photograph of Dugina hung on the wall behind her open coffin, which was flanked by two men in red armbands.

“She lived for the sake of victory, and she died for the sake of victory. Our Russian victory, our truth, our Orthodox faith, our state,” her tearful father said.

Mr Dugin, 60, said that he had last spoken to his daughter about the war between “light and darkness” in Ukraine. She had told him that she felt “like a warrior, like a heroine”.

He also said that among his daughter’s first words as a child were “Russia”, “our people”, and “our empire”.

The service was broadcast by Russia’s main television station. Alexei Mukhin, a pro-Putin analyst, told the channel that Dugina was “our Joan of Arc”.

Kremlin supporters, including the head of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church, have portrayed the invasion of Ukraine as a holy war between the defenders of “traditional” family values and the “dark” forces they say have seized power in Kyiv.

Russia’s FSB security service claims that Dugina was killed by a Ukrainian secret agent who fled to Estonia in a Mini Cooper. Kyiv has denied involvement. Some Ukrainian officials suggested the bombing may have been the result of infighting in the Russian security services. Estonia dismissed the Russian claims as “a provocation”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov vowed “no mercy” for the killers of Dugina.

“I believe that this is a barbaric crime for which there is no forgiveness,” Mr Lavrov said,

Mr Lavrov said the investigation into the attack would be completed soon. “According to the results of this investigation, there can be no mercy for those who organised, ordered and carried out” the car bombing, he said.

While not as well-known or notorious as her father, Dugina frequently promoted Kremlin propaganda on state television. Konstantin Malofeev, a Kremlin-linked tycoon who owns the Tsargrad media outlet, where Dugina worked, told fellow mourners that her memory would inspire Russia’s army.

“The people fighting against us do not understand that the Russian people are not just made up of those who are alive now, but are made up of those who lived before us and will live afterwards. And we will become stronger with the blood of our martyrs,” he said.

There are fears that Russia could use the car bombing as a pretext for a new round of missile strikes against Kyiv to coincide with Wednesday’s Ukrainian independence day. People have begun leaving the Ukrainian capital as a precaution.

There were no high-ranking Kremlin officials at the ceremony but Mr Putin has called Dugina’s killing a “vile and cruel” crime. He also posthumously awarded her the Order of Courage, one of Russia’s highest honours. Mr Dugin said that he felt his daughter was “joyous” when Mr Putin announced the award.

THE TIMES