According to officials in Moscow, Natalya Vovk who they are blaming for the assassination attempt on Putin’s close ally Alexander Dugin, used her 12-year-old daughter to help her locate Daria Dugina. Daria Dugina, 29, daughter of Alexander Dugin died on Saturday after the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving exploded near Moscow.
It is thought that the bomb which was planted underneath the car on the driver’s side was intended for Mr Dugin who was due to be in the car with his journalist daughter but decided to travel back in a separate car.
President Putin called the assassination a “cruel crime” and added that “she honestly served the people, the fatherland, she proved by deed what it means to be a patriot of Russia.”
Ukraine has denied any connections to the murder and President Zelensky said: “We should be aware that this week Russia may try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel. Such is our enemy.”
On Monday, Russia’s FSB security service claimed that Ms Vovk, a mother who is serving in the Ukrainian army, entered Moscow to assassinate the Russian journalist before fleeing to Estonia.
The FSB have released a photograph of Ms Vovk and a video which allegedly shows her in Moscow at the time of the incident.
Pro-Russia websites have labelled Ms Vovk as a member of the Azov regiment, a nationalist regiment which Russia accuses of “Nazism”.
Military specialists have raised eyebrows at the seemingly quick solution to the event on the weekend and said it was highly unlikely a Ukrainian soldier could so easily travel and enter Russia.
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The Azov regiment said: “The terrorist attack itself is a preparation for the “tribunal” over the people of Azov.
“After all, in this way, Russia warms up the public opinion of its citizens regarding the ‘necessity’ of such a court.”