Ukrainian citizen Bogdan Tsyganenko was identified as an accomplice in the assassination of journalist Darya Dugina last year
Bogdan Tsyganenko, a suspect in journalist Darya Dugina’s murder case, is seen entering Russia from Estonia on July 30, 2022. © Sputnik / Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)
A court in Moscow issued a warrant on Tuesday for the arrest a suspect in a high-profile investigation of the murder of a journalist. A Ukrainian citizen identified as Bogdan Tsyganenko is suspected of having played a major role in the assassination last year of Russian reporter and political activist Darya Dugina.
The judge ordered that Tsyganenko be placed under arrest for two months starting from the moment of his extradition to Russia or his detention on Russian territory, the court’s press service told the press. The suspect was also put on an international wanted list by Russian authorities.
Tsyganenko is charged with committing a murder out of hatred, Interfax news agency reported. He had been identified as an accomplice in Dugina’s murder as early as August 2022.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), he helped the primary suspect, Natalya Vovk, obtain a fake Kazakhstani passport and to assemble an improvised explosive device, which she later used to blow up Dugina’s car.
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The FSB also released footage allegedly showing Tsyganenko traveling with Vovk in her car, receiving falsified car plates for the vehicle, and entering and leaving Russia. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
The daughter of the well-known philosopher and ‘Eurasia’ advocate Aleksandr Dugin, 29-year-old Darya was killed in the car blast in the Moscow region last August. She had been a vocal critic of the government in Kiev and a supporter of Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
The murder generated speculation about whether the killers had actually intended to assassinate Dugin himself or his daughter. Some Western media have for long described the controversial philosopher as a secret influencer of Russian foreign policy.
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After Ukrainian citizen Natalya Vovk was identified as the primary suspect in the case, Russia accused Ukraine of masterminding the assassination. Kiev has denied any involvement. Vovk left Russia and crossed into Estonia after the murder, according to the FSB.
Russia saw a similar high-profile incident occur in April, when prominent military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was assassinated at a St Petersburg café. Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, was a former Donbass fighter and popular military blogger who advocated a decisive stance regarding the Russian military operation against Ukraine. He was also killed in a bomb blast.
The FSB then named Ukrainian citizen Yury Denisov as the organizer of the murder. Kiev denied any responsibility in this instance, too.
