Bomb kills daughter of Putin 'spiritual guru' Alexander Dugin

Russia has vowed to avenge the "assassination" of Darya Dugina, the daughter of Vladimir Putin's spiritual guru, Alexander Dugin.

Darya, 29, died in a car bomb explosion while she was heading back to central Moscow from a literary and arts festival in her Toyota Land Cruiser on Saturday night. It is being reported that the bomb was meant for her father, Alexander Dugin, an ultra-nationalist philosopher who is also described as a "Russian fascist."

He was a guest of honour at the event at the Zakharovo estate, and had switched cars with her at the last minute, according to a report in The Telegraph. Russia said that Dugina died "from an explosive device which had been placed under the bottom of the car on the driver's side."

A distressing video of the explosion shows Alexander Dugin holding his head in his hands in shock as he watches his daughter's car become engulfed in flames near the village of Bolshie Vyazemy on the outskirts of Moscow.

Dugin was seen as the brain behind Putin's interference in Ukraine in 2014. He advocated that Russia should rule over a greater Eurasian state and even celebrated the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

Darya Dugina was one of the people who benefited from the war. She rose to prominence following the invasion, and was a vocal supporter of her father. The UK sanctioned her last month for spreading fake news "in relation to Ukraine."

Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack, but the latter has denied involvement in it. "We are not a criminal state, like the Russian Federation, and moreover we are not a terrorist state," said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has also expressed fears that Russia may increase the frequency of attacks around its Independence Day on August 24. "We should be aware that this week Russia may try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel. Such is our enemy," added Zelensky in a video.