Daughter of Influential Russian Writer and Vladimir Putin Ally Dies in Car Bomb Attack Near Moscow

Darya Dugina, the daughter of an influential writer and ally of President Vladimir Putin, was killed by a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow late Saturday, Russian authorities said.

"Taking into account the data already obtained, the investigation believes that the crime was pre-planned and was of an ordered nature," the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement Sunday, according to CNN.

Investigators said an explosive device was "presumably installed" in the Toyota Land Cruiser Dugina was driving when it went off on a public road around 9 p.m. local time near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The car caught fire and Dugina died at the scene. A law enforcement official told TASS the vehicle was "monitored and its movement was controlled."

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Dugina is the daughter of Alexander Dugin, a supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine described as "Putin's brain" in a 2014 Foreign Affairs article about his influential philosophy.

Dugin called the deadly car bombing "a terrorist attack" and blamed the "Nazi Ukrainian regime" for his daughter's death in a statement, which called for Russia to defeat Ukraine in the ongoing war that began in February.

RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

"Our hearts yearn for more than just revenge or retribution," Dugin said, according to The Washington Post. "It's too small, not the Russian style. We only need our Victory. My daughter laid her maiden life on its altar. So win, please!"

The FSB, Russia's internal security service, said the attack was carried out by "Ukrainian special services," according to the Post's report.

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Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his country "certainly had nothing to do with" Dugina's death because "we're not a criminal state, like the Russian Federation is, and moreover not a terrorist state," he said, according to the Post.

"Ru-propaganda lives in a fictional world," Podolyak tweeted Monday.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PRESS SERVICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Russian President Vladimir Putin

In a letter of condolence published by the Kremlin, Putin called Dugina the victim of a "vile, cruel crime."

"A journalist, scientist, philosopher, war correspondent, she honestly served the people, the Fatherland, and through her actions she proved what it means to be a patriot of Russia," Putin wrote of Dugina in his message.

The New York Times reports that she was the chief editor of an English-language disinformation website and authored The Z Book, an upcoming account of Russia's invasion of Ukraine whose title apparently references a symbol used to show support of the war.

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After she was sanctioned by the U.S. in March, the British government announced sanctions against Dugina earlier this month, calling her "a frequent and high-profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine and the Russian invasion of Ukraine on various online platforms."

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A friend of Dugina told TASS that he believes Dugin was the intended target of the car bomb, according to CNN.

"It's her father's car," Andrei Krasnov reportedly told TASS. "Dasha (Darya) drives another car, but she drove his car today, and Alexander went separately." According to the Times, Dugin and his daughter both attended a nationalist festival over the weekend.

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.