Darya Dugina, 29, was attending a festival on Saturday night before a remote-controlled explosive device fitted to her 4×4 detonated as she drove on the outskirts of Moscow. The car was engulfed in flames and video from the scene shows Mr Dugin with his hands clutching his head in horror. The author and philosopher is credited as the architect or “spiritual guide” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is sometimes referred to as “Putin’s mastermind.” He is widely believed to be the intended target of the bombing which Moscow has blamed on Ukrainian special services. Ukraine war live updates: US warns of Russian attacks in coming days Russian media reported witnesses that the 4×4 belonged to Mr Dugin and that he decided at the last minute to travel in another vehicle. Speaking at a farewell ceremony for his daughter in Moscow on Tuesday, Mr Dugin said: “She was not afraid. The last words she said during our conversation at the Tradition festival were ‘father, I feel like a warrior, I feel like a hero. I want to be one, I don’t want a different fate. “I want to be with my people, with my country.” Mr. Dugin also said that his daughter “died for the people, died for Russia.” His voice broke as he continued, “The enormous price we must pay can only be justified by our highest achievement, our victory. “He lived for the sake of victory, and he died for the sake of victory. Our Russian victory, our truth, our Orthodox faith, our State.” Read more: Who was Daria Dugina, Putin’s murdered daughter? He made the remarks as hundreds of people attended the ceremony for Ms Dugina, who was a commentator on a nationalist Russian TV channel, at the Ostankino TV Center in Moscow. Mr Dugin had earlier urged the Kremlin to step up its activities in Ukraine after his daughter’s death. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter of condolence to Mr Dugina and his wife on Monday, denouncing the “cruel and treacherous murder” and saying Ms Dugina “honestly served the people and the Motherland, proving what it means be a patriot. Russia with its deeds”. We posthumously awarded Ms. Dugina the Order of Courage, one of Russia’s highest medals. Image: Alexander Dugin pictured at the scene of the car bomb attack Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed that the country denies involvement in the bombing. He said late Monday that “our special services have nothing to do with this.” The FSB charged that a Ukrainian national, Natalya Vovk, carried out the killing after arriving in Russia in July with her 12-year-old daughter and renting an apartment in the building where Ms Dugina lived to shadow her. Image: Natalya Vovk is accused by Russia of being behind the murder Russia claims Ms Vovk and her daughter attended a nationalist festival attended by Dugin and his daughter shortly before the murder. The agency said Ms Vovk drove to Estonia after the murder, using a different number plate for her vehicle. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu rejected the Russian claim, saying in televised statements that “we see this as an example of a provocation in a very long series of provocations by the Russian Federation and we have nothing more to say about it at this time.” Read more Russia claims Ukrainian killer behind car bomb that killed ally Putin’s daughter Cages were placed in Mariupol concert hall for ‘show trial’ of UN-condemned prisoners of war Russia planned new attacks on civilian infrastructure ahead of independence day, the US warns The car bomb blast sparked calls from Russian nationalists to respond by stepping up strikes in Ukraine. Mr. Dugin has been a prominent proponent of the concept of the “Russian world,” an intellectual and political ideology that emphasizes traditional values, the restoration of Russia’s global influence, and the unity of all ethnic Russians around the world. He helped popularize the concept of “Novorossiya” or “New Russia” used by Russia to justify its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
