Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed news reports in the United States that the US intelligence community suspected Ukrainian officials were behind the bombing that killed activist Darya Dugina near Moscow in August.
CNN reported Wednesday that the US intelligence community believed that the car bombing that killed Dugina, daughter of prominent Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin, was authorized by elements within the Ukrainian government.
The US was not aware of the plan beforehand, according to the sources who spoke with CNN, and it is still unclear who exactly the US believes signed off on the assassination. It is also not clear whether the US intelligence community believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of the plot or authorized it.
The intelligence finding was first reported by The New York Times.
Peskov added that he hoped US was not trying to distance itself from any future crimes allegedly planned by Kyiv.
“We really want to believe that this is not an attempt by American colleagues, having obtained some information, to relieve themselves of responsibility from the preparation of future terrorist acts by the Kyiv state,” Peskov said during the daily Kremlin call with reporters.
“If this is not a fake, then it is indeed positive that American intelligence agreed with this,” Peskov said.
More background: Ukrainian government officials did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment. They have previously denied any Ukrainian involvement in the murder.
“The Kremlin stands by the same information from the Russian special services since the beginning. The involvement of the Ukrainian state in this terrorist act, in this murder of a young girl, was argued and shown by our special services,” Peskov said.
“Quite promptly, those responsible were established, and who the customers were is clear enough,” he said.
The Russian security service, the FSB, published the name of the alleged assailant within two days of the assassination, saying that she was working on behalf of Ukrainian special services. By then, she had left Russia via Estonia by car, according to the FSB. She has not been seen since.
