<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Russia has accused Ukrainian special services of killing the daughter of one of Vladimir Putin's allies in a car bombing near Moscow at the weekend.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Journalist Darya Dugina, aged 29, died on Saturday when a vehicle she was driving exploded near Russia's capital.</div><div><br></div><div>Her prominent ultra-nationalist father, Alexander Dugin, said to be close to Mr Putin, may have been the intended target of the attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the explosion.</div><div><br></div><div>But Russia' Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday it had solved the case and said that Ukraine was directly responsible.</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement carried by Russian media outlets, the FSB contends that the Ukrainian special services hired a contractor who arrived in Russia in mid-July with her young daughter.</div><div><br></div><div>It alleges she rented an apartment in the same building as Ms Dugin to learn about her life and used a Mini Cooper car which had three different sets of licence plates.</div><div><br></div><div>The suspect escaped to Estonia after the explosion, the FSB said.</div><div><br></div><div>Ms Dugina and her father were at a festival near Moscow on Saturday evening where Mr Dugin, a philosopher, gave a lecture. They had reportedly planned to leave in the same car, but changed their plans at the last minute.</div><div><br></div><div>Investigators said an explosive had been planted underneath the Toyota Land Cruiser Ms Dugina was driving, which set it ablaze after detonation and killed her.</div><div><br></div><div>Video from the scene posted online appeared to show a shaken Mr Dugin watching emergency services attend the burning vehicle.</div><div><br></div><div>A family friend, Konstantin Malofeev, published a statement on behalf of Mr Dugin which branded his daughter's killing "a terrorist act by the Ukrainian Nazi regime".</div><div><br></div><div>He was referencing the unfounded yet oft-repeated claim by Russian leadership of a powerful Nazi presence inside Ukraine - one of the main reasons put forward for the invasion.</div><div><br></div><div>"My daughter Darya Dugina was brutally murdered in front of me," the statement on Telegram read. "She was a beautiful Orthodox woman, patriot, war reporter, an expert for central TV and philosopher."</div><div><br></div><div>"We only need our victory. My daughter sacrificed her young woman's life to its altar. So please, achieve it!"</div><div><br></div><div>Ms Dugina was a vocal supporter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She had been placed under sanctions by the UK in July as "a frequent and high-profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine".</div><div><br></div><div>Her father, Alexander, is also known as "Putin's brain" and has long expressed an anti-Western, ultranationalist philosophy that has made him a significant figure in Moscow - despite holding no political office himself. According to BBC reports.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>