Putin's women hit by new set of sanctions

VLADIMIR Putin’s mistress and his ex-wife have been slapped with sanctions as Britain tightens the economic noose around the despot’s “shady” inner circle.

- Martyn Brown

Alina Kabaeva, 39, a retired Olympic gymnast believed to be the tyrant’s lover, was targeted. And Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, 64, who was married to the despot until 2014, was also sanctioned.The Foreign Office said the measures would see members of Putin’s inner circle hit as the UK seeks new ways of punishing Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

The President’s official assets are modest, said the Foreign Office, with his lifestyle “funded by a cabal of family, friends and elites”.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “We are exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle and tightening the vice on his inner circle.