Russia pledges to deal mercilessly with the killers of the daughter of Alexander Dugin

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Tuesday for “merciless” dealing with those responsible for the murder of the daughter of a pro-Kremlin intellectual, whose funeral was attended by hundreds of people.

Darya Dugina, a journalist and political analyst, was killed Saturday when a bomb planted in the car she was driving exploded on a highway on the outskirts of Moscow.

Darya, then 29, is the daughter of 60-year-old Alexander Dugin, a thinker differentiated by his anti-liberal “neo-Eurasian” dogma.

Like her father, she strongly supported the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

Darya was returning with her father, each in a car, from a conservative cultural festival on the outskirts of Moscow, when her car exploded.

“We hope that the investigation will be completed soon,” Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow.

Based on the results of this investigation, there can be no mercy towards those who organized, ordered and carried out the bombing.

Hundreds of mourners, including relatives and politicians, gathered in Moscow on Tuesday in front of Darya Dugina’s coffin, which was topped by a picture of her smiling, AFP correspondents reported.

“She died for Russia, a nation and a people, at the front,” said Alexander Dugin, who was present with Daria’s mother, Natalia Melentieva, at the beginning of the funeral…The front is here.

“One of the first words we taught him in her childhood were, of course, Russia, our strength, our people, our empire,” Alexander Dugin said, weeping.

This murder shocked Russia and undermined the efforts of the authorities trying to convince their people that the invasion of Ukraine, which began six months ago, would not have negative consequences for the population in Russia.

However, the conflict has become more visible in recent weeks, with a series of explosions, especially in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow and where many Russians spend their holidays.

Less than 48 hours after the killing of Darya Dugina, Russian security services said Monday that they had concluded that a woman working for Ukraine’s special services planned and carried out the attack… But Kyiv denies the accusations.

On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky denied any involvement by Kiev in the killing of Darya Dugina, and said during a press conference that “we are not responsible” for it.

In a letter of condolence released by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was “a despicable and brutal crime that ended the life of Darya Dugina prematurely, who was brilliant, talented and had a true Russian heart”.

After her death, Putin awarded her the Medal of Courage, a high honor.

State Department spokesman Ned Price declined Monday to speculate on who was responsible for the murder.

He condemned every attack targeting civilians, noting that Kyiv denied any involvement.

His Russian counterpart, Maria Zakharova, responded Tuesday on Telegram, “Since the killing of a journalist didn’t call for comment from this angle, which is of great importance to the US authorities, then Washington does not have any moral right … to judge human rights in the world”.

Since 2014, the European Union has imposed sanctions on the promoter of the Eurasian Movement (a coalition between Europe and Asia under Russian leadership) Alexander Dugin.

His daughter has been targeted by US sanctions since the beginning of March.