Putin’s rumored girlfriend hit with latest U.S. sanctions

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new round of U.S. sanctions targeting Russian elites includes a woman named in news reports as Vladimir Putin’s longtime romantic partner. The Treasury Department says the government has frozen the visa of Alina Kabaeva, an Olympic gymnast in her youth and a former member of the state Duma, and imposed other property restrictions. The U.S. government says Kabaeva is also the head of a Russian national media company that promotes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Critics of the Kremlin and imprisoned Russian rights campaigner Alexey Navalny have been calling for sanctions against Kabaeva, saying her news outlet took the lead in portraying Western commentary on the invasion as a disinformation campaign.