CIA-trained Ukrainian operatives used a cat carrier to smuggle bomb parts into Russia to carry out a assassination, the Washington Post reported Monday.
The parts used to make the bomb that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian nationalist author Alexander Dugin, were smuggled into the country by mother and her 12-year-old daughter, according to the Post. The two managed to get the pieces over the border from Ukraine to Russia inside the cat carrier by cluttering up their car and seeming “barely worth the attention of Russian security officials,” the outlet reported.
Hidden within the cat carrier was a secret compartment containing the elements of the bomb. It would take another four weeks before it would reach its final destination and end the life of 29-year-old Dugina, according to PBS. Russia immediately blamed Ukraine’s domestic security services (SBU) for the attack, and the SBU has since accepted responsibility, per the Post. The outlet also reported that “officials acknowledge” that Alexander, not Daria, was the intended target.
Here’s what we are reading today:
The Moscow car bombing that killed a Russian nationalist’s daughter last year was carried out by CIA-trained Ukrainian operatives, according to The Washington Post.
The bomb was smuggled to Russia in a pet carrier. https://t.co/czcRcLdd99
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) October 23, 2023
Though there are sparing details on why Dugin, a civilian, was targeted. the Post referenced his urging of Russian’s to “kill, kill, kill” Ukrainians, and his support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but not much else. (RELATED: Putin Might Threaten Nukes, Chemical Attacks And More, US Says)
After Russia first seized Ukrainian territory in 2014, the country’s domestic security service (SBU) started working closely with the CIA to develop its intelligence operations, the Post reported. The CIA has apparently spent millions on helping Ukrainians develop their intelligence and spy programs, and maintains a substantial presence in Kyiv, officials told the outlet.