Vladimir Putin’s ‘family values’ tsar has left her Orthodox priest husband for a billionaire, it’s reported.
Maria Lvova-Belova has been Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights since she was instated by Putin shortly before the start of the war against Ukraine.
The 39-year-old is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges for the unlawful deportation of hundreds of Ukrainian children from areas occupied by Russia.
She has claimed Russia evacuated them, but distraught parents of the children say they were abducted.
Ms Lvova-Belova married Orthodox priest Pavel Kogelman in 2003 and the pair went on to have five children together and adopting another five.
She has adopted 18 children in total, including a Ukrainian boy taken from Mariupol.
Rumours that she had left Mr Kogelman began circulating after footage emerged of her holding hands with Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, 50, at a church procession in Yekaterinburg earlier this month, reports MailOnline.
Mr Malofeev, who is 11 years older than Ms Lvova-Belova, founded the ultraconservative TV network Tsargrad, has close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, threw his support behind Putin when he invaded Ukraine and has called for Russia to become a monarchy onseveral occasions.
He is currently under US and EU sanctions for financing separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Although the pair have not confirmed their relationship, sources within the Orthodox Church say they are together, according MailOnline.
Pro-Kremlin media has regularly posted stories about Ms Lvova-Belova’s family, and she and her husband have both spoken publicly about their family, ‘traditional values’, adoption and their Christian faith.
It’s believed she started working closely with Mr Malofeev early last year, when they announced the launch of a joint charity project to help Ukrainian children called Happy Childhood
They later travelled together to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Mr Malofeev reportedly divorced his wife last summer, while it’s believed Ms Lvova-Belova no longer lives with her husband.
Ms Lvova-Belova, a vocal supporter of Putin’s war against Ukraine, has regularly shared videos on social media that show her as a model of family values and modesty.
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