The UK Government has imposed sanctions on Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s former wife and his alleged current girlfriend over the ongoing invasion in Ukraine.

Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, who was married to the President until 2014, and former Olympic gymnast, Alina Kabaeva, are all facing UK travel bans and asset freezes. The UK has now placed more than 1,000 people on its Russian sanctions list.

Since Lyudmila Ocheretnaya’s divorce from Mr. Putin, she has benefited from preferential business relationships with state-owned entities and exhibited significant unexplained wealth, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) revealed. She is a close associate of Mr. Putin and obtained financial or material benefits, the FCDO added.

The FCDO also disclosed that Ms. Kabaeva is a Former Russian Member of Parliament and Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Media Group, which is reportedly the largest private Russian media company. It noted that the National Media Group controls television stations including Channel One, which is already under sanctions.

“She is also rumoured to be the current partner of Putin and it is reported that he has tried to reduce her visibility since the invasion began. For example, a couple of weeks after the invasion, the National Media Group website was updated to remove her name, along with any reference to the board of directors.”
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

But Russia’s leader, Mr. Putin, has explicitly denied having a relationship with Ms. Kabaeva.

What is Britain Planning?

Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, disclosed that Britain is “tightening the vice” on Mr. Putin’s “inner circle”. She continued to say that the UK is “exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle”, and would “keep going with sanctions on all those aiding and abetting Putin’s aggression until Ukraine prevails”.

Mrs. Truss said sanctions against Russia should only be lifted when all of its troops leave Ukraine. Earlier, she mentioned in a meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers in Germany that allies should go “further and faster” in supporting Ukraine’s resistance. She indicated that Putin must face a defeat that would prevent further aggression, but some analysts warned that such a stance is likely to make a political settlement harder.

Others Under Sanctions

Among others added to the UK sanctions list are Ms. Kabaeva’s grandmother, Anna Zatseplina, and cousins of Mr. Putin.

All assets frozen is a quest to prevent UK citizens or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. Regarding the ban on travelling, it is expected that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the UK.

The UK Foreign Secretary has been the most outspoken among other UK Ministers in setting out explicit aims relating to the conflict. Mrs. Truss indicated in her speech last month (April 2022) that Russia should be pushed out of “the whole of Ukraine”. But some Foreign Policy Analysts raised concerns that such specific demands might one day clash with Ukraine’s interests and could make negotiations harder.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Moldovan Foreign Ministers are expected to join G7 Ministers at another meeting in Germany on Friday, May 13, 2022. Then on Saturday, May 14, 2022, Mrs. Truss will be due to travel to Berlin for a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, where the FCDO pointed out that Mrs. Truss will push for a “strengthened and modernised” version of the western alliance.

Since Russia’s invasion began on Thursday, February 24, 2022, in Ukraine, thousands of civilians and combatants have been killed or injured, as well as some 14 million people who fled their homes, according to reports by Ukrainian Authorities, with more than six million others seeking refuge abroad.