Katerina Tikhonova, daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is seen on a screen as she takes part in a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg
(Picture: REUTERS)The UK has imposed sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s daughters as part of a new package of measures targeting Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The government included Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova in its updated list of individuals facing asset freezes and travel bans.
The EU is set to follow suit as it ramps up sanctions against Vladimir Putin following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to two officials who spoke to the Associate Press on condition of anonymity.
The UK has also added the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to its list of targeted individuals.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Our unprecedented package of sanctions is hitting the elite and their families, while degrading the Russian economy on a scale Russia hasn’t seen since the fall of the Soviet Union.
“But we need to do more. Through the G7, we are ending the use of Russian energy and hitting Putin’s ability to fund his illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.
“Together, we are tightening the ratchet on Russia’s war machine, cutting off Putin’s sources of cash.”
It follows a similar move two days earlier by the United States.
US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he was imposing sanctions on Putin’s daughters.
The sanctions are being imposed amid suspicions that the Russian president’s fortune is hidden away with family members.
The US, along with the UK, also targeted Russian banks and elites with a new round of sanctions, including banning investing in Russia, in response to what President Joe Biden condemned as ‘major war crimes’ by Russian forces in Ukraine.
“Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable,” he said. “And together with our allies and our partners, we’re going to keep raising economic costs and ratchet up the pain for Putin.”
The US will sanction Ms Tikhonova and Ms Vorontsova, along with key members of Russia’s security council. The US said they were targeted “for being the adult children of Putin, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked”.
Ms Tikhonova was described as “a tech executive whose work supports the GOR [Russian government] and defence industry”. The announcement stated Ms Vorontsova “leads state-funded programmes that have received billions of dollars from the Kremlin toward genetics research and are personally overseen by Putin”.
Ms Vorontsova, 36, is Putin’s eldest child and believed to be an expert in rare genetic diseases in children.
Ms Tikhonova, 35, is also a scientist and was once a talented acrobat.
