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NYT says that U.S. believes Ukrainians behind killing of Dugina in Russia
On 20 August, Darya Dugina was killed when her car exploded in flames on the outskirts of Moscow - Photo. Twitter account

U.S. intelligence agencies believe parts of the Ukrainian government approved a car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified officials.

Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report.

The Times reported, the United States took no part in the attack on Dugina and was not aware of it ahead of time. It said that American officials admonished Ukrainian officials over the assassination.

The paper said some U.S. officials suspected Dugina's father, Alexander Dugin, a vocal supporter of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, was the actual target of the assassination.

After the attack, Ukraine denied involvement in the killing, while Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services of being behind it.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential advisor, told Reuters on Thursday (Oct 6) that Dugina had been of no interest to Kyiv before she was killed.

He wrote on WhatsApp in response to a Reuters request for comment: "Objectively speaking, Dugina was really never of any interest to Ukraine."

"Before Dugina's murder, the people of Ukraine and representatives of the Ukrainian authorities did not know about her public activities and her influence on propaganda programmes.

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"In our opinion, the key beneficiary of Dugina's murder was certain Russian radical supporters of the war (in Ukraine). Including a section of the (Russian) special services."

He said Moscow had tried to use accusations against Ukraine after the murder to divert attention from allegations that some Russian soldiers had committed war crimes in Ukraine.

He said that Dugina had been used as a "sacred sacrifice" and an important propaganda symbol.

He wrote: "The answer to the question 'Who benefited from it?' is obvious in this case."

Source: usnews