Putin's girlfriend to head media group

Kabayeva will replace Kovalchuk's nephew Kirill as head of the group.The bank was hit by the first wave of Western sanctions over Russia's annexation of Crimea and both the European Union and the United States have slapped asset freezes and travel bans on Kovalchuk. Brussels said in July that NMG "controls television stations which actively support the Russian government's policies of destabilisation of Ukraine".