OTTAWA –
A woman believed to be a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin was among 22 people added to the list of Russians sanctioned by Canada over the war in Ukraine.
Alina Kabayeva, 39, a former Olympic gymnast who now chairs Russia’s National Media Group, has long been said to be a friend of Putin and the mother of some of his children. Both she and Putin denied a romantic relationship.
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said on Tuesday that Canada was working with its allies and adding new people to the financial sanctions every week in a bid to “stifle Putin’s regime” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
“We do it every week, that’s our goal,” she said. “It has been like this since February 24 and we are doing it together with the allies. So what we do is sometimes take the lead. Sometimes we work with the Americans, sometimes we work with the Europeans, and at the end of the day, when all the G7 ministers come together, we know we are working on the same subjects and people. “
Kabayeva, who is also a former Russian politician, was first sanctioned by the United Kingdom two weeks ago. The Wall Street Journal reported a month ago that the United States had refrained from adding Kabayeva to its sanctions list for fear that it would escalate too much tension between Russia and the United States.
Jolie was careful about how she described Kabayeva on Tuesday, initially calling her “a man very close to Putin,” and then, when asked who she meant, grimaced and paused. “So it’s his,” she said, pausing. “I don’t know (how) to call her, but his partner, yes, I guess.”
Others on the sanctions list, which went into effect last Friday, include billionaire Andrei Kozitsyn and several bankers, including Elena Alexandrovna Georgieva, head of Russia’s Novikombank.
The latest round of sanctions also includes four financial institutions.
Canada has sanctioned more than 1,500 individuals and legal entities since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
“At this point, our goal is to isolate Russia economically, politically and diplomatically,” Jolie said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 31, 2022.
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