The United States believes Ukraine was behind the August assassination of Darya Dugina, the daughter of right-wing Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, according to officials speaking with the New York Times.
The U.S. apparently suspects elements of the Ukrainian government were behind the attack and privately admonished Ukrainian officials in response, U.S. officials told the New York Times. However, they stressed that the U.S. had no involvement in the planning or carrying out of the killing and would have opposed it if made aware.
“We have no comment on purported intelligence leaks,” a State Department spokeswoman said when reached for comment by the Washington Examiner.
RUSSIA CLAIMS UKRAINIAN INTELLIGENCE BEHIND DARYA DUGINA ASSASSINATION IN MOSCOW
When asked about Ukraine’s complicity in the assassination at an Aug. 22 press briefing, two days after the killing, State Department spokesman Ned Price repeated Ukraine’s denial.
“So I don’t have anything to share beyond what you have all heard publicly, and that is that Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack on this individual. We unequivocally condemn the targeting of civilians,” he said when asked about the car bombing. “I have no doubt that the Russians will investigate this. I also have no doubt that the Russians will put forward certain conclusions. All I can say from here is that Ukraine has denied any involvement, and for our part, we condemn the intentional targeting of civilians anywhere.”
The U.S. officials also hinted at a wider Ukrainian espionage campaign inside Russia, adding that the U.S. is frustrated by the lack of transparency with which it is conducted, a sharp contrast with the open cooperation the two countries enjoy on the military front. They also added the strong discouragement of the U.S. toward highly symbolic assassinations of figures like Dugina or her father, which don’t translate to changes on the battlefield but could result in a strong retaliation from Moscow.
The officials didn’t say whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself could have signed off on the assassination.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, reiterated Ukraine’s denial of any complicity in the attack when asked by the outlet.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Dugina was killed in a car bombing on Aug. 20, which was allegedly carried out by a remote explosive device covertly placed in her vehicle. It is widely speculated that the intended target was her father, Dugin, but he took a separate car at the last minute. The Russian security service claims to have solved the case, laying the blame on two Ukrainians they say were working with Ukrainian intelligence, but at least one think tank expert has been skeptical of Ukrainian involvement, claiming that the Kremlin, or even Dugin himself, was behind the assassination.
