Britain imposes sanctions on “Putinʼs mistress” Kabayeva, his ex-wife, family and friends

Britain has expanded sanctions against Russia. New sanctions have hit Putinʼs financial network, including his ex-wife and cousins, Russian gymnast Alina Kabayeva, who is said to be the Russian presidentʼs mistress.

Today, Foreign Minister Liz Truss announced new sanctions against Putinʼs "wallet", his family and friends — those whom he rewards with public office and wealth in exchange for their loyalty.

Official documents list President Putinʼs modest assets, including a small apartment in St. Petersburg, two Soviet-era cars from the 1950s, a trailer and a small garage.

In fact, Putin relies on his network of family, childhood friends and a select elite who have benefited from his rule and, in turn, support his lifestyle. Their reward is the influence on the affairs of the Russian state, which goes far beyond their formal positions.

Therefore, sanctions were imposed against:

• gymnast Alina Kabayeva, who is called Putinʼs mistress;
• Kabayevaʼs grandmother Anna Zatseplina;
• ex-wife of Putin Lyudmila Ocheretnaya;
• Putinʼs cousins Igor Putin, Roman Putin and Mikhail Shelomov;
• another relative of Russian President Mikhail Putin;
• a close friend of Putin, Alexandr Plekhov;
• Mikhail Klishin, Executive Director of Russia Bank;
• the son of Putinʼs childhood friend Peter Kolbin, Vladimir;
• brother of Putinʼs former son-in-law Yuri Shamalov;
• the second Putin, Viktor Khmarin.

"We are exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle and tightening the vice on his inner circle. We will keep going with sanctions on all those aiding and abetting Putin’s aggression until Ukraine prevails," Liz Truss said.

So far, the UK has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 individuals and 100 legal entities, including oligarchs, worth 117 billion pounds.

• On April 8, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the two daughters of Russian President Putin and the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.
• On May 4, the British government imposed sanctions on Russian state media and a number of journalists. The sanctions included Yevgeny Piddubny, a military correspondent for Russiaʼs First Channel propaganda channel, Alexander Kots, a military correspondent for the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Dmitry Steshin, a special correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, and the All-Russian State Television, Broadcasting and Information Broadcasting Agency. the SouthFront website and the online magazine "Strategic Culture Foundation", which distributed fakes about Bucha.
• On May 9, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against Russia and Belarus. These include raising tariffs and banning exports.