The daughter of a close associate of the President of Russia died Vladimir Putinfrom a car bomb explosion near Moscow.

According to Russian media and as reported by the BBC, Darya Dugina died when an explosion occurred in her car while she was returning home.

It is believed that her father, Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin, known as “Putin’s mastermind”, may have been the target of the attack.

According to Russian media, the father and daughter were supposed to return from the event on Saturday evening in the same car, but Dugin decided at the last moment to go separately.

BREAKING: Daughter of Alexander Dugin, often referred to as “Putin’s brain”, dies in car explosion near Moscow pic.twitter.com/pSkBK8ENGO

— BNO News (@BNONews) August 20, 2022

Footage posted to Telegram, which the BBC has not verified as authentic, shows Dugin watching in shock as emergency services approach the burning car.

Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that it had opened a murder case, adding that it was looking into “all versions” of the incident.

Alexander Dugin has been advocating the unification of Russian-speaking regions with Russia for many years. 30-year-old journalist Daria Dugina also spoke out in favor of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In an interview in May, she called the war a “clash of civilizations” and said she was proud that both she and her father were targeted by Western sanctions.

Earlier this year, U.S. and British authorities imposed sanctions on Daria Dugina for spreading “disinformation” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dugin has been under US sanctions since 2015 for his alleged involvement in Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

^{According to the BBC, REUTERS}