'Lavish lifestyles' of Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov's daughters targeted by UK sanctions
Business InsiderDec 30, 2021
The Facts
The UK announced on Fri. that it has added Putin's two daughters, Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova - along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's daughter, Yekaterina Vinokurova - to its sanctions list.
The UK assets freezes and travel bans, reportedly aimed at cracking down on the "lavish lifestyles" of the Kremlin's inner circle, mirror US and EU sanctions imposed earlier this week.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The only way to make Putin stop the war in Ukraine is to squeeze any Russian benefiting from links to Moscow. Western authorities must continue to 'seize and freeze' the assets of Russian oligarchs and family members of Putin's inner circle, wherever they try to hide them.
Establishment-critical narrative
Putin's government may be responsible for horrendous crimes against humanity in their invasion of Ukraine; however, it's hypocritical to impose sanctions on Russia but not on the US for invading Iraq for equally unjustified reasons, or on Israel for invading and annexing Arab lands.
Libertarian narrative
These sanctions are unfair and risk leading to widespread Russophobia. It's not only Russian oligarchs being targetted; there are also many informal sanctions being imposed on Russian culture and businesses. This is cancel culture stigmatizing an entire population for the crimes of one autocrat.