Russia-Ukraine war: Putin condemns ‘despicable, cruel’ killing of Darya Dugina as Russia

It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

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• Russia has accused Ukraine’s intelligence services of carrying out the murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue. Dugina was killed on Saturday evening when a bomb blew up the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving, Russian investigators said. The Guardian has not been able to verify the accusations made by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

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• Ukraine has vehemently denied involvement in Dugina’s killing. A senior Ukrainian official said they believed that Dugin was the target, not the daughter, but argued the victim and her father were not strategically significant figures. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the FSB’s accusations as Russian “propaganda” living “in a fictional world”.

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• The FSB’s claims have raised fears of violent retaliation, with Ukraine bracing itself for an intensification of Russian missile attacks to coincide with its independence day on Wednesday. The country’s military warned that Russia had put five cruise missile-bearing warships and submarines out in the Black Sea and that Moscow was positioning air defence systems in Belarus. Large gatherings have been banned in Kyiv for four days from Monday.

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• A senior Russian diplomat has ruled out a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine. Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, told the Financial Times that there would be no direct talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, adding that Moscow expects a prolonged conflict.

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• Ukraine’s army chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said almost 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February. This is the first time Ukraine has revealed the scale of its military losses since the war began. It has not been possible to independently verify the figure put forward by Zaluzhnyi.

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• Russia is finding it difficult to motivate and add “auxiliary forces” to its regular troops in the Donbas, the latest British intelligence update said. The MoD report added that Russia is finding it difficult to motivate its auxiliary forces to join its regular troops in the Donbas. This is leading to commanders likely resorting to using financial incentives to get troops into combat.

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• Turkish president, Tayyip Erdogan, is planning to speak with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, this week to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and the war in Ukraine, Russian state media agency RIA Novosti has cited a diplomatic source as saying.

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• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has warned Russia against putting Ukrainian soldiers captured during the siege of Mariupol on trial. In his latest video address, Zelenskiy said that if the “absurd and disgusting trial” of Ukrainian soldiers takes place in Mariupol it will eliminate the possibility of talks with Russia.

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Good afternoon from London. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong still with you with all the latest from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

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Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has sent his condolences to the family of Darya Dugina, describing the daughter of the ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin as a “patriot of Russia”.

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In a statement published on the Kremlin website, the Russian leader described Dugina’s killing as a “despicable, cruel crime”.

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Putin said:

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A despicable, cruel crime crime ended the life of Darya Dugina – a bright, talented person with a real Russian heart – kind, loving, sympathetic and open. A journalist, scientist, philosopher, war correspondent, she honestly served the people, the Fatherland, she proved by deed what it means to be a patriot of Russia.

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Putin’s statement was published after Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Ukraine’s intelligence services of carrying out her murder. Ukraine has denied involvement in her death.

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My colleague Dan Sabbagh has the latest from Ukrainian officials after Russia accused Kyiv’s intelligence services of carrying out the murder of Darya Dugina:

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A senior Ukrainian official repeated a denial of Kyiv’s involvement in the car bombing on Monday, arguing that the victim and her father were not strategically significant figures. “What reason is there for us to do this?” said one, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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The official said they believed that Dugin was the target, not the daughter, but said that he was not an important Russian political figure or a decision maker in the Ukraine war. “Not many people here have heard of him, and nobody had heard of his daughter,” they added.

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A claim made in Ukraine that the killing was the work of a new group called the National Republican Army should not be taken too seriously either, the official added. “They are a virtual group, seeking to increase their profile as a result of this incident,” they said.

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The car bombing appeared to be a sophisticated plot – “the work of professional guys” – and while it may be been the product of a dispute amongst ultranationalists the official speculated it could also have been the work of Russia’s FSB agency, although they stressed the latter hypothesis was only speculative.

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Ukraine does expect Russia to try and make political capital from the incident, particularly because it has come at a time when Ukraine wants the US and other countries to list Moscow as a state sponsor of terrorism. Russia would likely refer to the bombing to try “to silence voices” calling for such a designation.

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Ukraine’s army chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said almost 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February.

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This is the first time Ukraine has revealed the scale of its military losses since the war began, previously protected as a tightly guarded secret.

It is impossible to independently verify the figure put forward by Zaluzhnyi. The commander-in-chief did not specify if the total included all armed forces defending Ukraine, including border guards. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has previously said 1 million people are involved in defending Ukraine.

Zalyzhniy said children needed protection in several parts of the country including the capital Kyiv. He said:

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The [children] really do not understand anything that is going on and definitely need protection … because their father has gone to the front and possibly is among the almost 9,000 heroes who have been killed.

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In June, shortly before sought-after western equipment arrived, the Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podalyak, said up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers were dying a day.

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It is unclear exactly how much the new long-range rocket systems have helped stem Ukraine’s death toll. Analysis by a Washington-based thinktank, the Institute for the Study of War, found that the new weapons’ ability to target ammunition depots had helped slow Russia’s ability to attack Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine claims that as many as 45,000 Russian troops have died in Ukraine since February. The CIA, however, has put the total number of Russians dead closer to 15,000 in July.

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Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Ukrainian special services of carrying out the murder of the daughter of an ultranationalist Russian ideologue, the Interfax news agency is reporting.

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Ukraine has denied involvement in the car-bomb killing of Darya Dugina, whose father is the Russian political commentator Alexander Dugin, on the outskirts of Moscow on Saturday night.

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Russian investigators have now claimed that Dugina’s murder was prepared and carried out by Ukraine’s special services, who they said travelled to Estonia after the killing.

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Earlier today, the Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported that the car bomb that killed Dugina was detonated remotely, citing a Russian law enforcement agency official.

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Ukraine is bracing itself for an intensification of Russian missile attacks in the aftermath of the killing, with the country’s military warning that Russian troops had put five cruise missile-bearing warships and submarines out in the Black Sea and that Moscow was positioning air defence systems in Belarus.

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A senior Russian diplomat has ruled out a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine and said Moscow expects a prolonged conflict, in an interview published days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches the six-month mark.

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Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, told the Financial Times that there would be no direct talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

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He claimed Moscow and Kyiv had been “very close” to reaching a deal to end the conflict during negotiations in April and accused the US and Nato allies of pressing Ukraine to walk away from talks.

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Gatilov said:

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Now, I do not see any possibility for diplomatic contacts. And the more the conflict goes on, the more difficult it will be to have a diplomatic solution.

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He added that it was impossible to forecast how long the conflict could last and said Western countries “will fight until the last Ukrainian”.

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Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here with you today to bring you all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.

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It is just past 1pm in Ukraine. Here is what you might have missed:

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• Authorities in Kyiv have banned large public events and gatherings ahead of Ukraine‘s 31st anniversary on Wednesday of independence from Russian-dominated Soviet rule, reports Reuters. People in the capital will not be able to meet up in big groups from Monday until Thursday due to the possibility of rocket attacks, according to a document published by the Kyiv military administration signed by its head Mykola Zhyrnov. It comes after Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warned of the risk of more severe attacks ahead of the celebration.

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• Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine is not going the way that Vladimir…