Reports about a relationship between the Olympic gymnastics champion and Putin have been circulating for years. The Moscow tabloid Moskovsky Korrespondent wrote in 2008 about the marriage plans of the two, after which the owner ended the financing of the newspaper. The Kremlin has always denied that Kabayeva and Putin are romantically involved.
As chairman of the National Media Group, which has interests in many Russian media companies, Western countries say she is co-responsible for actions supporting the invasion of Ukraine. The US also put the CEO and major shareholder of steel group MMK on the sanctions list.