U.K. Sanctions Putin’s ‘Shady’ Network Of Family And Friends—Including Rumored Girlfriend

U.K. Sanctions Putin’s ‘Shady’ Network Of Family And Friends—Including Rumored Girlfriend

Share to Linkedin The U. K. government on Friday announced a fresh wave of sanctions targeting the friends and family of Vladimir Putin, who Westminster claims are funding the Russian president's "lavish lifestyle," as countries continue to crack down on Russia's elite over its invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin's friends and family have been sanctioned by the UK The sanctions mean asset freezes and travel bans will be imposed on seven family members and five "confidants and loyal supporters" that function as a "wallet… funding Putin's lavish lifestyle," the Foreign Office said in a statement. Members of Putin's family sanctioned include his ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, a series of cousins in prominent business positions and Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast turned media executive widely presumed to be his clandestine partner. Kabaeva's grandmother, Anna Zatseplina, has also been targeted. Bank executive Mikhail Klishin, oil executive Yuri Shamalov and businessmen Alexander Plekhov, Viktor Khmarin and Vladimir Kolbin—all elites who have "benefited from his [Putin's] rule"—were also sanctioned. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the government is "exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin's luxury lifestyle." The precise size, source and nature of Putin's wealth has been impossible to