Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters are among those sanctioned in the latest round of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Maria Putina and Katerina Tikhonova, as reported earlier this week, are among a number of Russian individuals and companies facing sanctions as Western nations continue their economic onslaught on the Kremlin and its closest allies. Similar fines were imposed on the daughters by the European Union.
Maria Putina, who uses the surname Vorontsova, is a medical researcher and co-owner of a health care investment firm.
In a statement, the White House stated, “These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people.” “Some of them are in charge of providing the essential support for Putin’s attack on Ukraine. This measure disconnects them from the American financial system and freezes whatever assets they have in the country.”
Putin has rarely mentioned his two daughters, who are thought to be the children of the Russian president and his ex-wife, former flight attendant Lyudmila Putin. Before divorcing in 2013, the pair had been married for over 30 years.
Maria Vorontsova is the elder of Vladimir Putin’s two adult children.
While little is known about the daughters, according to Bloomberg, Putin stated in 2015 that both women went to college in Russia and spoke numerous languages.
Tikhonova, a former competitive dancer, is currently the director of a Moscow State University artificial intelligence venture. Putina, who goes by the surname Vorontsova, works as a medical researcher and is a co-owner of Nomenko, a health-care investment organization.
According to the Kremlin’s website, Maria is Putin’s older daughter, born in 1985. Katerina was born on this day in 1986.
Katerina Tikhonova is a former competitive dancer.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Putin declared at a 2015 press conference, “To talk about where exactly my daughters work and what they do — I have never done this and will not do it now, for various reasons, including security problems.”
“They simply live their lives with dignity,” he continued.
Putin is said to have further children, but their identities have never been revealed. The penalties, according to the White House, affected Putin’s “adult children.”
The wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and current Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin were all included in the new round of penalties.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest private bank, and Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest financial institution, were also targeted by the sanctions.
Western officials have increasingly targeted the relatives of important Russians in rounds of sanctions, according to The Washington Post, imposing fines on Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov, his wife, and children.
The US and its allies have “imposed the most impactful, coordinated, and wide-ranging economic restrictions in history,” according to the White House.
“Russia will very certainly lose its standing as a major economy,” the Biden administration added, “and it will continue its protracted spiral into economic, financial, and technical isolation.”