MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. The reaction by the US Department of State to the murder of journalist and public activist Darya Dugina discredits Washington’s international human rights activity, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.
On Monday, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price, commenting on Dugina’s murder, said that the United States unequivocally condemned the targeting of civilians anywhere. That said, he noted that he had nothing to add besides the fact that Ukraine had denied any involvement.
"The reaction of the State Department to the murder of Darya Dugina and the evidence showing Ukraine’s trail presented by Russia discredits US international activity on human rights," the diplomat noted.
"Washington has no moral right (not to mention the absence of legal basis) to talk about human rights in faraway corners of the world if the murder of a journalist is not even commented on from this aspect which is very meaningful for the American side. They simply didn’t notice that this is about a public activist," the diplomat added.
Darya Dugina, the daughter of philosopher and public figure Alexander Dugin, was killed on the evening of August 20, when a bomb planted in the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving detonated and burst into flames near Bolshiye Vyazemy in the Moscow Region. She was returning from a literary and musical festival which she attended as a guest of honor.
On August 22, the FSB Public Relations Center told TASS that the murder of Darya Dugina was solved. According to the agency, it was masterminded by Ukraine’s secret services and carried out by Natalia Vovk, a Ukrainian citizen, who absconded to Estonia after committing the murder. In his turn, Advisor to the Ukrainian Presidential Office Mikhail Podolyak denied Kiev’s involvement in the murderous blast.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding the Order of Courage to Dugina posthumously.