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The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain


RUSSIA: ‘NO MERCY’ FOR ASSASSINS

by our Eastern European Affairs correspondent

THE KREMLIN will show “no mercy” to those who killed the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist philosopher last weekend. Those were the words of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov following the death of Darya Dugina in a car-bomb attack clearly meant for her father, Alexander Dugin.

The UN has called for an investigation into the assassination and Pope Francis has denounced the murder, saying Dugina was one of the many “innocents” who have suffered because of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian police say Ukrainian intelligence had organised the bombing and a Ukrainian woman, Natalya Vovk, has been named as the suspected assassin. Vovk had entered Russia with her teenage daughter and rented an apartment in the same block where Dugina lived. She had allegedly been present at the same public event as the slain journalist, upon the conclusion of which the latter’s car was blown up. The car targeted by the killer had belonged to Dugin, who planned to accompany his daughter but at the last moment ended up taking a different vehicle. Vovk fled to Estonia before she could be apprehended. The Zelensky regime has denied any involvement in the bombing.

Alexander Dugin, the intended target, has long been a controversial character amongst the Russian nationalist community. He joined the far-right National Bolsheviks that was banned in Russia in 2007 and later supported the small Pan-Slavic Eurasia Party. In the West he’s touted as “Putin’s brain” and portrayed as the sinister mentor of the Russian president. But Dugin’s connection with Putin is dubious at best, and there is no evidence that the two have ever even met.

Contamination

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Putin stressed that “the systematic shelling by the Ukrainian military” around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could damage installations and lead to vast radiation contamination.

The Russian and French leaders supported the despatch of international IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspectors to the plant to assess the real situation on the spot, the statement said, and the Russian side confirmed its readiness to provide IAEA inspectors with necessary assistance.

Meanwhile, the Russians and their Donbas allies continue their slow but steady advance in eastern Ukraine. Last week the strategic town of Zaitsevo was liberated after the Ukrainian units surrendered to avoid annihilation, whilst the legendary ‘Somalia’ battalion of the Donbas is leading the drive to sweep the Ukrainians out of their entrenched positions around Donetsk airport. The ‘Somalians’ are commandos said to be as fearless as Somali fighters in Africa.

And in the south, where the much-vaunted Ukrainian counter-attack was supposed to have taken place this month, the Russians have not only held the line but have even made a modest breakthrough along the road to the Ukrainian-held centre of Nikolaev.

The slow pace of the Russian offensive is meant to protect civilians. In Moscow, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Russian campaign is progressing as intended. The relatively slow pace is the result of a conscious decision to protect civilian lives. Speaking at an international event on Wednesday, the minister said Russia “strictly follows the norms of humanitarian law” in Ukraine, countering claims to the contrary made by the Zelensky regime.