The United States believes “elements” within the Ukrainian government are responsible for the car bomb assassination of a far-right ideologue’s daughter in Russia, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing a closely held U.S. intelligence assessment.
The daring Aug. 20 attack that killed journalist Daria Dugina outside Moscow demonstrated Kyiv’s ability to carry out sabotage operations on Russian soil, but raised U.S. concerns that it could provoke Russia to retaliate against senior Ukrainian officials. Kyiv has denied having a role in Dugina’s killing.
U.S. intelligence agencies shared their assessment of Ukrainian complicity in Dugina’s killing within the U.S. government last week, according to the NYT.
American officials admonished Ukrainian colleagues afterward, the publication reported.
Frustrated with Ukraine’s non-transparency about its military and covert plans, American officials denied providing intelligence or prior knowledge of the attack, according to the report.
Dugina was the daughter of Alexander Dugin, a hardline ideologue and Ukraine war supporter who has called for Russia to step up its military campaign against Kyiv following his daughter’s assassination.
Some American officials believe that Dugin himself was the actual target of the car bombing, according to the NYT report.
The report provided no details on who carried out the killing, which parts of the Ukrainian government may have authorized Dugina’s assassination, or whether President Volodymyr Zelensky was involved.
“Someone like Dugina is not a tactical or a strategic target for Ukraine,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the publication.
