Sergei Shoigu, defence minister

SHOIGU, 66, is so close to Putin that he goes on hunting and fishing trips with him – and is tipped as a potential successor.

He has said the West’s “strategic direction continues to pose the biggest threat to Russia’s military security”.

He has been sanctioned by the US and EU but the UK has yet to take action against Shoigu or his eldest daughter Yulia, 44, who is also a politician.

His other daughter Ksenia, 31 – reportedly a millionaire in her own right – is also absent from the UK “sanctions list” – people of interest to the British