US secretary of state Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin visit Kyiv as Russian invasion enters third month
from the Wall Street Journal reveals that US officials have been holding off on levying sanctions against Alina Kabaeva, a former Russia Olympic gymnast believed to be Vladimir Putin’s mistress. Last month, the US targeted Putin’s daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, along with his former wife, Lyudmila Shkrebneva, but Kabaeva – and at least three of her children that are believed to be Putin’s – was left out.
The belief among U.S. officials debating the move is that sanctioning Ms. Kabaeva would be deemed so personal a blow to Mr. Putin that it could further escalate tensions between Russia and the U.S. The 69-year-old Mr. Putin has never acknowledged a relationship with Ms. Kabaeva, a 39-year-old former cover model for Russian Vogue.
The Kremlin has long denied any relationship between Mr. Putin and Ms. Kabaeva. Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Ms. Kabaeva, who has denied a relationship with Mr. Putin, couldn’t be reached for comment.French polling agencies are projecting that voters elected French president Emmanuel Macron for a second term, beating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
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