The United Kingdom on Friday (April 8) sanctioned the two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the daughter of diplomatic chief Sergei Lavrov over the invasion of Ukraine, saying it wanted to go after the lavish lifestyle of the Kremlin’s inner circle.
London is thus following Washington and Brussels in targeting Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, daughters of Vladimir Putin with his ex-wife Lyudmila. They are now banned from entering the UK, where any assets will be frozen. Is also targeted Ekaterina Vinokurova, daughter of Sergei Lavrov, whose daughter of the alleged mistress, Polina Kovaleva, was already sanctioned.
Pointing out that the already existing sanctions would cause an economic crisis in Russia unprecedented since the fall of the USSR, the head of diplomacy Liz Truss felt that more should be introduced. Through the G7, we are working with our partners to stop Russian energy consumption and thus strike a blow to Putin’s ability to finance his illegal and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine, she assured in a statement. London, which has announced that it wants to end all purchases of Russian oil and coal this year and eventually of Russian gas, is pleading with the Europeans to reduce their dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. The subject is to be discussed Friday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whom he is receiving at Downing Street.
According to the Kremlin website, Maria was born in 1985 before the family moved to Dresden, East Germany, where Vladimir Putin was sent as a KGB agent. His second daughter, Katerina, was born the following year in that city.Through a few rare remarks over the years, Vladimir Putin has revealed that his daughters received their higher education in Russia, speak several European languages and live in Russia. Beyond these few pieces of information, the Kremlin has kept Vladimir Putin’s family life firmly out of the public sphere. According to some Russian media, Maria Vorontsova is an endocrinologist working in a large medical research company focused on cancer treatments and has ties to the Russian state. Russian media have also identified Katarina Tikhonova as a mathematician who heads a science and technology foundation affiliated with Russia’s leading state university.