'Vile Crime': Russia Accuses Ukraine Of Killing Putin Aide's Daughter Darya Dugina

Journalist Darya Dugina, 29, died on Saturday when the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving exploded near Moscow.

File photo of Darya Dugina, daughter of Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin ( Image Source :Twitter )

Russia on Monday accused Ukraine's secret services of killing Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian ultra-nationalist and President Vlamidir Putin's aide Alexander Dugin, in a car bombing on the outskirts of Moscow. Putin expressed his "sincere condolences" over the death of Dugina and called the incident a "vile and cruel crime", AFP reported.

"A vile, cruel crime ended the life of Darya Dugina, a bright, talented person with a real Russian heart -- kind, loving, sympathetic and open," AFP quoted Putin as saying.

Journalist Darya Dugina, 29, died on Saturday when the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving exploded near Moscow. Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the explosion.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the attack was carried out by a Ukrainian woman born in 1979 and identified her as Natalia Vovk, BBC reported.

It said the woman and her teenage daughter had arrived in Russia in July and rented an apartment in the same building as Dugina to learn about her life. The FSB said they used a Mini Cooper car that had three different sets of licence plates.

The FSB further said that the woman attended an event outside Moscow on Saturday evening in which Dugina and her father were also present before carrying out a "controlled explosion" of the journalist's car. The suspect escaped to Estonia after the explosion, the FSB said.

At the event, Dugin, a philosopher, gave a lecture. The father-daughter duo had reportedly planned to leave in the same car, but changed their plans at the last minute.

Alexander, also known as "Putin's brain", had branded his daughter's killing "a terrorist act by the Ukrainian Nazi regime".

Dugina was a vocal supporter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She had been placed under sanctions by the UK in July as "a frequent and high-profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine".