In response to Ukraine’s invasion, the US slapped sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, on Wednesday.
Apart from Putin’s daughter, the US is also targeting Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife and children, and members of Russia’s Security Council, including former President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The United States is also toughening sanctions against Russian financial institutions.
The penalties cut off all of Putin’s close family members from the US financial system and freeze any assets they hold in the United States.
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Who are Vladimir Putin’s daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova?
The Russian president’s daughters, Maria Vorontsova, 37, and Katerina Tikhonova, 35, are the result of his marriage to former wife Lyudmila Putina.
Maria is said to have been born in St. Petersburg around 1985.
The following year, Katerina was born.
At the time of Katerina’s birth, the family was based in Germany.
Putin was a foreign intelligence officer with the KGB, Russia’s secret service.
Putin divorced Putina, a former Aeroflot flight attendant, in 2013.
Maria earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Saint Petersburg State University and her master’s degree in biology from Moscow State University in 2011.
According to reports, she’s a paediatric endocrinologist.
Maria and her Dutch businessman husband, Jorrit Faassen, divorced last month.
On the other hand, Katerina is said to be the deputy director of Moscow State University’s Institute for Mathematical Research on Complex Systems.
She was also an acrobatic dancer in the past.Her personal life is largely unknown.
(With inputs from agencies)
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