Ksenia Sobchak flees Russia for Lithuania amid Putin's war

Ksenia Sobchak, a TV celebrity and socialite with close family ties to President Vladimir Putin, has fled Russia for Lithuania in the wake of a criminal probe.

A prominent TV celebrity and former socialite with close family ties to President Vladimir Putin has fled Russia in the wake of a criminal probe, the latest sign of the war in Ukraine’s domestic impact.

Ksenia Sobchak, who was once known as the “Russian Paris Hilton,” arrived in Lithuania on an Israeli passport, the Baltic country’s state security service confirmed to NBC News on Thursday.

Russian state media first reported that she had fled in order to avoid arrest and that her home had been raided as part of a criminal case against one of her employees, reports that topped domestic news.

Sobchak, 40, is one of the best-known people in Russia.

She has often been critical of Putin and voiced opposition to the war, but opposition figures have viewed her family history — as well as her transformation from party girl to politician and well-connected journalist — with suspicion, accusing her of helping to serve the Kremlin’s agenda.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ksenia-sobchak-flees-russia-lithuania-putin-war-rcna54272

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