Darya Dugina was killed by partisans of the National Republican Army – former Russian parliamentarian
UKRAINSKA PRAVDA – SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST 2022, 21:54
Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (the Russian parliament), said that the so-called National Republican Army (NRA) has claimed responsibility for the murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of "Putin’s ideologue" Aleksandr Dugin.
Source: Ponomarev on air on Utro Fevralya (February Morning), his opposition TV channel, and in a commentary for Ukrainska Pravda
Details: Ponomarev said that Darya Dugina had called for the murder of Ukrainians and was one of the voices inciting violence and calling for murders in the occupied territories [of Ukraine]. Among other things, she had offered a justification for the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Olenivka prison camp.
Quote from Ponomarev: "This act [the murder of Dugina - ed.], like many other partisan acts carried out on Russian territory over the last few months, was carried out by the National Republican Army.
We have established contact with NRA fighters via our Rospartisan [Telegram] channel, which covers the rising tide of resistance in Russia. Today the NRA fighters authorised me to read their manifesto."
Quote from the NRA "manifesto": "We are Russian activists, military personnel and politicians, currently also partisans and fighters of the National Republican Army, and we are outlawing the warmongers, thieves and oppressors of the peoples of Russia!
We declare President Putin to be a usurper of power and a war criminal who has violated the Constitution, unleashed a fratricidal war between Slavic peoples, and sent Russian soldiers to a certain and senseless death.
[…] We will overthrow and destroy Putin! […] We declare all Russian government officials and regional administration officials to be accomplices to the usurper. We will kill every one of them who fails to resign.
We declare all business owners who profit from corruption and personal connections to government officials to be traitors of the Motherland and accomplices to the usurper. We will destroy the property of everyone who fails to repent and publicly express their opposition to this government and its war, and we will kill every one of them.
We declare everyone who works for the security forces to be accomplices to the usurper. We will kill everyone who fails to lay down their arms and step down from their positions.
We declare military cargo, and the cargo of everyone who is profiting from the war or helping to finance it, to be legitimate targets that will be destroyed by us.
[…] We call on the soldiers of the Russian army to stop firing on our brothers from other countries: Georgia, Syria, Ukraine and other countries." [Ponomaryov named Ukraine even though the manifesto published online does not mention it - ed.]
More details: The National Republican Army is urging all Russian citizens to join its ranks and "raise the white, blue and white flag of the new Russia instead of the tricolour disgraced by Putin's government."
"We will protect everyone who responds to our call," the organisation promises.
It also stated that everyone who undertakes the course of actions it has laid out, "all the way up to regime change", will be exempt from the liability specified by the "usurper’s" laws.
In addition, the NRA promises to free everyone who has been illegally sentenced by Putin’s government immediately "after victory".
Ponomarev said that he supports the actions of his "comrades" from the NRA. He stressed that the organisation is not at war with peaceful civilians and will not target civilian facilities.
"I urge everyone who is prepared to fight ‘Putinism’ not in words, but with action, to join our ranks," he announced.
In a conversation with Ukrainska Pravda, Ponomarev confirmed that the NRA had released the statement. He noted that he has been "in touch" with members of the organisation since April 2022.
"We are actively helping [the NRA] in various ways," he added.
Earlier: Darya Dugina, the daughter of "Putin’s ideologue" Aleksandr Dugin, was killed when her car exploded in flames on the outskirts of Moscow. She wrote for Tsargrad and RT, two Russian Kremlin-aligned media outlets, and was one of the authors of "The Book of Z", a book about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Background:
- Ilya Ponomarev was a member of the Russian Duma (Parliament) until 10 June 2016, despite emigrating to the US in June 2014. On 24 June 2016, he received a Ukrainian residence permit.
- In May 2019, Petro Poroshenko, then President of Ukraine, granted Ponomarev Ukrainian citizenship.
- Ponomarev was the only member of the Russian parliament who voted against the "accession" of Crimea to the Russian Federation in March 2014.
- Ponomarev testified in the case of high treason committed by Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych, which was heard in the Obolonskyi Court in Kyiv. During his testimony, Ponomarev said that Putin had personally authorised the annexation of Crimea on the night of 22-23 February 2014, and that his plan to seize part of Ukraine was driven by his emotions.
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