Ukraine chastises Pope for condemning journalist's murder

Pope Francis was wrong to express regret for the death of Russian journalist and political figure Darya Dugina, Ukraine’s envoy to the Vatican has said. The diplomat claimed the woman was not an innocent victim, and her murder was orchestrated by “Russians.”

Dugina was killed on Sunday, when a bomb planted in her car exploded. The Pope condemned the incident, calling the woman “a poor girl” and lamenting that innocent people die on both sides during wars.

The Ukrainian diplomat, Andrey Yurash, called the remarks “disappointing” in a tweet on Wednesday, saying the “aggressor” and “victim” cannot be spoken about in “the same categories.” 

He wrote that Dugina was not an innocent party, as she was an ideologue of “Russian Imperialism,” and went on to claim that she was killed by “Russians,” supposedly to rally domestic support for the military operation against Ukraine.

Dugina was the daughter of controversial Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, whose works promote Russian exceptionalism, and who has been widely described in the Western media as a behind-the-scenes architect of Russian foreign policy. Darya shared some of his beliefs and was a vocal supporter of the Russian military action against Ukraine.

Russian investigators have identified a Ukrainian woman as the prime suspect in Dugina’s murder. According to the FSB security agency, she rented an apartment in the building where the victim lived and fled from Russia to Estonia right after the bombing. Moscow has accused Kiev of masterminding the killing, which Ukrainian officials have denied.