VLADIMIR Putin's daughters are being hit with sanctions by both the UK and EU. 

Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova will be penalised under measures designed to target the “lavish lifestyles” of the Russian President’s inner circle, the Foreign Office has said.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s daughter, Yekaterina Vinokurova, has also been blacklisted, with her assets in the UK frozen and a travel ban imposed. 

It comes after a similar move by the US two days ago.

The Foreign Office said the sanctions imposed by the UK, EU and US were already having a damaging effect on the Russian war machine, claiming £275 billion (60%) of Russian foreign currency reserves now frozen.

Officials claim the country is now heading for its deepest recession since the collapse of the soviet union, wth GDP growth this year estimated to be between -8.5% and -15%. 

The average cost of goods for consumers has also risen dramatically since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, rising on average by 8.67%. 

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Our unprecedented package of sanctions is hitting the elite and their families, while degrading the Russian economy on a scale Russia hasn’t seen since the fall of the Soviet Union.   

“But we need to do more. Through the G7, we are ending the use of Russian energy and hitting Putin’s ability to fund his illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.  

“Together, we are tightening the ratchet on Russia’s war machine, cutting off Putin’s sources of cash.”

Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said: “These latest sanctions were adopted following the atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Bucha and other places under Russian occupation.

“The aim of our sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behaviour of the Russian troops and make clear to the decision makers in the Kremlin that their illegal aggression comes at a heavy cost.”