Putin spokesman's stepdaughter sanctioned after luxury London life exposed

The stepdaughter of the Russian Foreign Minister has been caught in U.K. sanctions against Russia after her life in London was revealed by a Russian pro-democracy activist, reports VICE News.

Polina Kovaleva, the 26-year-old stepdaughter of Kremlin spokesman Sergey Lavrov, graduated from the Imperial College of London and resides in Kensington. Her father is a member of Putin’s inner circle and has been a key figure spreading disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine.

A now-viral Twitter thread by Maria Pevchilikh, head of investigations at Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, brought attention to Kovaleva’s lavish lifestyle and claimed she purchased her London flat for £4.4 million ($5.8 million) in cash when she was just 21.

I would like you to meet Polina Kovaleva. Polina is a 26-year-old glamorous Russian girl from London🇬🇧. She lives in a huge apartment in Kensington and loves to party, her instagram feed looks like a non-stop holiday. That’s not unheard of, but there is one small detail…(THREAD) pic.twitter.com/6OsVGjPxQQ

— Maria Pevchikh (@pevchikh) March 10, 2022

The activist called Kovaleva’s Instagram feed a “non-stop holiday” between luxury villas and described the secret relationship between Lavrov and his mistress, actress Svetlana Polyakova.

“Putin’s cronies often have two families at the same time,” wrote Pevchilikh. “Putin himself, while being married to Ludmila Putina, had a second family with former gymnast Alina Kabaeva. Minister of Defence Shoigu had two wives and two sets of children simultaneously. And Lavrov is no different.”

Polina is Svetlana’s daughter from another marriage.

Pevchilikh argued that the apartment must have been purchased with money from Lavrov, saying her only source of money was her unemployed mother who happens to be Lavrov’s mistress. She called for it to be seized via unexplained wealth order, a mechanism to seize property that was strengthened by U.K. sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

The pro-democracy activist also blasted the family for criticizing Western liberalism while enjoying its fruits.

“Lavrov gave numerous speeches about the evil Anglo-Saxon world and the awful liberal western countries who want to destroy Russia and Ukraine," Pevvhilikh wrote in another tweet.

"So why on Earth does his step-daughter live in the centre of London? Why not in Crimea or Donbas, why doesn’t she move there?”

Lavrov gave numerous speeches about the evil anglo-saxon world and the awful liberal western countries who want to destroy Russia and Ukraine. So why on Earth does his step-daughter live in the centre of London? Why not in Crimea or Donbass, why doesn’t she move there? pic.twitter.com/YPuCAB5hhV

— Maria Pevchikh (@pevchikh) March 10, 2022

The Telegraph reports that Kovaleva will no longer be able to travel to and from the U.K. It is not clear if she is currently in the country.