The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s famous girlfriend as part of a series of measures targeting Russian elites in the latest effort by the Biden administration to punish the Kremlin over the ongoing war in Ukraine. Alina Maratovna Kabaeva, who has been romantically linked to the Russian leader, was sanctioned “because she is or has been a leader, official, senior executive or board member of the government of the Russian Federation,” a Finance Ministry statement said. That statement describes the 39-year-old Kabaeva as having a “close relationship with Putin.” She is a former member of the State Duma “and is the current head of the National Media Group, an empire of pro-Kremlin television, radio and print organizations.” In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that imposing sanctions on Kabaeva was under consideration by the US, but there was concern that such a move would inflame tensions given her close proximity to Putin. Kabaeva has previously been sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom. In addition to Kabaeva, the Finance Ministry announced sanctions against a number of other oligarchs, a major steel company and two of its subsidiaries, as well as a financial institution accused of running a sanctions-busting business and its chief executive. Read the full story here.
