Putin's rumored girlfriend Alina Kabaeva hit with US sanctions

• The US Treasury Department sanctioned Vladimir Putin's rumored girlfriend.
• Alina Kabaeva was hit by the latest round of sanctions on Tuesday.

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned Alina Kabaeva, the rumored girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a statement, the department said the new round of sanctions targets several Kremlin-connected elites like Kabaeva, a 39-year-old former Olympic gymnast, saying they financially contributed to fueling Russia's ongoing and unprovoked war in Ukraine.

"As innocent people suffer from Russia's illegal war of aggression, Putin's allies have enriched themselves and funded opulent lifestyles," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.

She said the department "will use every tool at our disposal to make sure that Russian elites and the Kremlin's enablers are held accountable for their complicity in a war that has cost countless lives."

"Together with our allies, the United States will also continue to choke off revenue and equipment underpinning Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine," she said.

Kabaeva has been widely linked romantically to Putin — who is private about his personal life and has not confirmed the relationship — for years now. The two are even rumored to have children together.

According to the Treasury Department, Kabaeva is a former member of Russia's State Duma, a chamber of its parliament, and "has a close relationship" with the Russian president.

Kabaeva, who is the head of a pro-Kremlin media group, has already been sanctioned by the UK, Canada, and European Union. Until now, the US had resisted calls to sanction her.

The Treasury Department's sanctions also targeted a multinational company, a yacht, and a sanctions evasion operation.