Ukraine Latest: Daughter of Putin Ally Killed by Car Bomb

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(Bloomberg) — The daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist believed to be an ally of President Vladimir Putin was killed in a car explosion outside Moscow on Saturday, the state-run Tass reported. 

On Saturday, a drone struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in occupied Crimea on Saturday, days after unexplained explosions at nearby military facilities. No injuries were reported. Several Ukrainians, including children, were injured in a Russian rocket strike north of Mykolaiv. 

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Grain exports continue from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports a month after a safe-transit agreement was reached. A Turkish official estimated total shipments so far at over 656,000 tonnes. 

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

On the Ground

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is approaching the six-month mark, and the past week saw minimal changes in territorial control along the front line in the Donbas. Ukrainian air defense shot down four Russian Kalibr cruise missiles near the city of Dnipro, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Facebook. Russia continued to bombard the Kharkiv region with barrel and rocket artillery in roughly ten settlements. Russian shelling hit an apartment block in Voznesensk, to the north of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, wounding nine people including at least four children, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram. 

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(All times CET)

Daughter of Putin Ally Killed in Car Bomb: Tass (6:30 a.m.)

The daughter of Russian nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin was killed by a car bomb outside Moscow on Saturday night, Russian state media reported. 

An SUV driven by Darya Dugina exploded in flames as she was driving about 20 km (12 miles) west of the capital, according to reports. A family friend told Tass that the Toyota Land Cruiser belonged to Dugin, who had intended to travel home with his daughter from an event but “went in a different way.”

Dugin is believed to be an ally of Vladimir Putin and to have influenced the Russian president’s views. He was sanctioned by the US in 2015 for his alleged involvement in Moscow annexation of Crimea. Dugina, a journalist, was sanctioned by the US and UK this year. The UK called her a “high-profile contributor of disinformation” about Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

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Austria Summons Russian Envoy Over Tweet (7:47 p.m.)

Austria’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s envoy to the nuclear talks with Iran due to a tweet he sent in response to the US sending additional military aid to Ukraine.

“No mercy to the Ukrainian population!” Mikhail Ulyanov said in a tweet late Friday that he later deleted. He claimed it referred to the Ukrainian government’s reluctance to enter peace talks.

Austria summoned the Russian diplomat for Sunday, calling the remarks inhuman.

US Warns Turkey About Russian Ploy to Bypass Sanctions (5 p.m.)

A top US Treasury official on Friday warned his Turkish equivalent about Moscow’s attempts to bypass Western sanctions via Turkey, according to a Treasury readout. 

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Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo raised with Yunus Elitas, Turkey’s deputy finance minister, “concerns that Russian entities and individuals are attempting to use Turkey to evade sanctions put in place” by the US and 30 other countries, according to the readout.

Moscow Accuses Ukraine of Poisoning Troops (3:30 p.m.)

Russia’s defense ministry said it had evidence of chemical substances having been used against its forces in the Zaporizhzhia region in late July. 

Tests on sickened soldiers in Vasilyevka area showed the presence of botulinum toxin type B, the ministry said. It didn’t explain how troops could have been targeted in the occupied region. 

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Geraschenko said on Telegram that the troops may have been sickened by their own supplies. “The poisoning could have been caused by expired canned meat, in which botulinum toxin is often found,” he said.