The European Union has placed the likely current girlfriend of President Vladimir Putin, 39-year-old Alina Kabayeva, on its sanctions list.
The former top gymnast is no longer welcome in the EU and any possessions are frozen. The EU has already imposed punitive measures against Putin’s ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya and two of their daughters.
The new sanctions list, published Friday in the EU’s Official Journal, also includes the names of senior military personnel held responsible for the massacre in Butha and Mariupol, where many innocent civilians were killed.
The sanctions include a colonel known as “The Butcher of Butsha” and the Colonel-General nicknamed “Butcher of Mariupol”. In total, the EU has 65 individuals in its sights.
Alina Kabayeva has been assumed to be Putin’s girlfriend since 2008. That was never officially confirmed, nor that they would have children together. Kabayeva is a former Olympic, World and European champion in rhythmic gymnastics.