Vladimir Putin has blocked his elder daughter from travelling abroad amid fears she did not intend to return to Russia, according to reports from Moscow.
Scientist Dr Maria Vorontsova wanted to fly to a “friendly” country for a tropical beach vacation to mark her 37th birthday next week, it has been claimed.
She planned the romantic getaway with Yevgeny Nagorny, 33, her partner since the breakup of her marriage, according to the General SVR Telegram channel which claims to have inside knowledge from the Kremlin
“Putin responded with a categorical refusal, strengthening the security protection of Maria,” said the report on the Russian outlet.
“According to our information, the president’s eldest daughter did not plan to return to Russia.”
The report did not say if the reason for her alleged plan to abscond was her father’s bloody war in Ukraine.
Maria - who has been sanctioned by Western countries due to her family links to Putin - has a half-Dutch son, now eight, by her ex-husband Jorrit Faassen.
She is now banned from travel to major Western countries but had been a regular visitor to Europe prior to the sanctions.
Pictures previously showed Maria with Nagorny attending a wedding near Salerno, Italy in 2019. She appeared at the time to be pregnant.
Maria is Putin’s daughter by his ex-wife Lyudmila, the former Russian first lady. She is an expert in rare genetic diseases in children and is a leading researcher at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia.
Her sister Katerina, is deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University, and is likewise from Putin’s previous marriage.
Their half sister is allegedly Luiza Rozova, a 19-year-old heiress also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, from a previous relationship with cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 45, now a part-owner of a major Russian bank.
All three have remained silent on the war with Ukraine, and their opinion on the conflict is not known.
Speculation that he has a family with rhythmic gymnast turned media mogul Alina Kabaeva, 38, have been met with official denials, but the rumours persist.
Putin has previously said: “I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.”
He deplored “those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others’ lives”.
Kabaeva is on record as saying she had met a man who “I love very much”, adding: “Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared.”
It was not immediately possible to verify the General SVR claims.
