The European Union has proposed sanctioning Alina Kabaeva, a former gymnast who chairs the National Media Group and is reportedly closely associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a document seen by Bloomberg and people familiar with the matter.
The list still needs to be approved by European governments and could change before that happens. EU ambassadors are expected to meet on Friday morning to discuss, and possibly approve, a sixth sanctions package that also includes measures to eliminate all oil imports by the end of the year.
National Media Group it is a holding company that owns stakes in almost all major Russian media outlets that spread government propaganda, the EU document states, and is therefore responsible for supporting actions that harm Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.
Kabaeva is “closely associated with President Vladimir Putin“, According to the document. The bloc previously sanctioned the Russian president and two of his daughters he had with his ex-wife.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied media reports that the 69-year-old Putin has been romantically involved with Kabaeva or have children with her.
The owner of Moskovsky Korrespondent stopped funding the Russian tabloid in 2008 after it reported that Putin had divorced his wife and planned to marry her. Kabaeva. Putin himself angrily denounced the article as an “erotic fantasy”.
In 2014, Yury Kovalchuk, a billionaire Putin associate, appointed Kabaeva as director of its holding company National Media Group after she served nearly seven years as a lawmaker in Russia’s ruling party.
Kabaevawho is an Olympic gold medalist, turns 39 next week.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the United States postponed sanctioning Kabaeva over concerns it could escalate tensions with Putin, citing unnamed US officials.
