Civilians Flee Kyiv as Russia's FSB Blames Ukraine for Blast That Killed Dugina

Russia's Federal Security Service said that Dugina's killer was a Ukrainian women linked to the Azov Battalion.

Image used for representation only. Ukrainian soldiers collect bodies of civilians killed by the Russian forces at the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine.

(Photo: PTI)

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Tuesday, 23 August, that many civilians are trying to leave the capital Kyiv amid fears of an attack by the Russian military on the country, following the death of Daria Dugina.

Dugina was the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, a philosopher and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to BBC, Alex Rodnyansky, the aforementioned adviser, said that there was "certainly some concern" that an attack may strike Kyiv on Wednesday, which is also the country's independence day.

"People are reacting to the news. They are trying to ensure they have contingency plans, they don’t want to spend too much time near the centre near the buildings of our government. There is a risk Russia will try to strike exactly at that time to compensate for their inability to have any success on the battlefield, to have any success in subduing Ukraine and basically all the failures they have run up over the last six months," he added.

Meanwhile, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Ukraine's secret services of killing Dugina.

The FSB has stated that the attack was carried out by a 1979-born Ukrainian woman, whom it named and whose picture and information has been shared on Russian websites. It is being said that she is affiliated to Ukraine's security services and the Azov battalion, a far-right unit of the military that Russia has designated as a terrorist group. Azov, in response, simply accused Russia of lying.

Moscow also said that the woman had arrived in Russia in July to prepare for the attack, and fled to Estonia afterwards.

Vladimir Putin on Monday posthumously awarded Dugina the Order of Courage "for courage and selflessness shown in the performance of professional duty."

And her father, in his first public statement since the killing, wrote "Our hearts are not simply thirsting for revenge or retribution. We only need our victory (against Ukraine). My daughter has sacrificed her young life on the altar of victory. So please win!"

(With inputs from Reuters and The Guardian.)