London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

UK joins US in imposing sanctions on Putin’s daughters

UK joins US in imposing sanctions on Putin’s daughters

Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova will be subject to asset freeze and travel ban
The UK has imposed sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, following in the footsteps of the US in another symbolic move to put pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova will be subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban, although it is not clear whether either of them has ever visited the UK or whether they own any assets within reach of UK officials.

The US imposed sanctions on the women on Wednesday, with a senior US official saying that many of Putin’s assets were hidden with family members. There have been persistent but unconfirmed reports that Putin has fathered other daughters but Tikhonova and Vorontsova are his only publicly acknowledged children.

Both were designated by the UK on Friday under an urgent procedure, under which the government can impose sanctions on the basis of allies’ evidence if they think it is in the public interest. The urgent procedure gives the UK 56 days to find its own evidence.

The EU has also imposed sanctions on the sisters as part of a new package of measures targeting Russia’s economy, businessmen and oligarchs, according to two EU officials who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Neither daughter had been added to the EU’s public sanctions list on Friday morning.

A report on the EUobserver website earlier this week, citing a draft version of that EU list, claimed the soon-to-be-announced sanctions would also cover several wives, ex-wives, sisters, stepdaughters and mothers-in-law of pro-Kremlin oligarchs.

Putin’s daughters with his former wife, Lyudmila, have kept a low public profile and have not made any official public appearances with him as adults.

The UK’s sanctions designation said Vorontsova was born in April 1985 in Leningrad, now St Petersburg, and that Tikhonova was born a year later in Dresden, where Putin worked undercover as a spy for the KGB intelligence service until the fall of the Soviet Union.

The US described Tikhonova as a “tech executive”. It said Vorontsova, thought to be a paediatric endocrinologist studying the effects of hormones on the body, leads state-funded programmes that have “received billions of dollars from the Kremlin toward genetics research and are personally overseen by Putin”.

Tikhonova, who uses the surname of her maternal grandmother, studied at St Petersburg State University and Moscow State University and has a master’s degree in physics and mathematics.

While Putin has previously said they “live their own lives”, the US government has said there is evidence that those around them have benefited from their father’s power.

Tikhonova was previously married to Kirill Shamalov, who was designated for sanctions in April 2018 by the US in response to Russia’s “worldwide malign activity”. The US government said Shamalov married Tikhonova in February 2013.

“His fortunes drastically improved following the marriage,” the US said, pointing to the acquisition of a large portion of shares of Sibur, a Russian oil and gas producer, and a $1bn loan from the state-controlled Gazprombank that helped propel him into the “billionaire elite”.
Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
Can we expect the same treatment to the Biden family as more info on crackhead Hunter comes out on his dealings with commie china and nazi Ukraine? Slow joe might lose the basement he hides in and all the under the table money he skimmed

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×