The British government has announced sanctions against former Olympic gymnast Elena Kabava over her “close relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a push by Western countries to pressure Moscow to target close ones. He has been set up, he has acted. Military operations in Ukraine
According to the Wall Street Journal, many Western governments believe that Kabava, 39, is the mistress of the 69-year-old Russian president.
“The European Union is also planning to impose sanctions on Kabawa,” the newspaper quoted two European diplomats as saying.
The British Foreign Office said it had also imposed sanctions on Kabava’s grandmother, Lyudmila Ochertnaya, Putin’s ex-wife and several relatives of the Russian president.
And the Wall Street Journal reported that Britain was anticipating the US government because it had refused to impose sanctions on Kabava for fear of escalating differences with Moscow, citing a report.
A US government official told the newspaper on Friday that “the United States is considering sanctions against Kabawa” but declined to give further details.
“The US government believes that Kabawa is the mother of Putin’s three children,” the newspaper wrote.
The Kremlin has long denied any love affair between the Russian president and Kabava, and has not responded to the Wall Street Journal’s request for comment.
In 2008, Putin responded to reports of the issue by saying, “I have always resented those who come to the private lives of others by plowing their noses and lusts.”
The British government notes that Putin owns small assets in his name, including an apartment in St. Petersburg as well as two Soviet-era cars, and says most of the Russian leader’s property has been distributed among a network of close friends and business associates.
After Kabayeva retired from gymnastics, she entered politics as a legislator for Putin’s ruling party in Russia and left parliament in 2014 to become a member of the board of the New Media Group, or NMG for short, that controls channels and channels. he does. Russian government radio stations and websites.
Kabawa was appointed to his final position by the head of the media group, Yuri Kovalchak, who owns the largest stake in Rossiya Bank.
British officials believe that “the media group’s relationship with the bank is evidence of Kabawa’s financial relationship with Putin.”
The British boycotted Kabatava’s grandmother Anna Zatsibilina, saying she had bought a luxury apartment in Moscow provided by another person who had been boycotted, Putin’s ex-wife.
According to the British government, Uchternaya is subject to sanctions because he benefits from business relationships that benefit state-owned companies.
Britain also boycotted Roman and Igor Putin, his cousins and close friend Alexander Blikov, who the British government said were receiving government benefits.
The sanctions also affected Putin’s relatives, Mikhail Shlomov, because of his stake in Bank of Russia, and Britain believes he’s a frontrunner for the Russian president. Be.
Source: Lebanon Debate
