The U.S. has brought sanctions against the former Olympic gymnast who is long-rumored to be the romantic partner of Russian President Vladimir Putin — adding the person known as “Russia’s most flexible woman” to the growing list of individuals to face financial penalties in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Alina Kabaeva, 39, has been romantically linked to Putin, 69, for more than a decade and is thought to have had at least three children with him. In announcing sanctions against her on Tuesday, the Treasury Department said “Kabaeva has a close relationship to Putin” and that she was being targeted as part of an effort to “impose severe costs for those who support President Vladimir Putin’s war.”
“As innocent people suffer from Russia’s illegal war of aggression, Putin’s allies have enriched themselves and funded opulent lifestyles,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a statement. “The Treasury Department will use every tool at our disposal to make sure that Russian elites and the Kremlin’s enablers are held accountable for their complicity in a war that has cost countless lives.”
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