MOSCOW, April 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Western sanctions have affected some of those on the list, including the wife of Gennady Timchenko, the co-owner of gas producer Novatek.
He said the wife of the Russian billionaire had been unable to pay for an operation because of a blocked bank card.
"This, of course, is simply a human rights violation," Putin said in a televised call-in with the nation. (Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk; Additional reporting by Polina Devitt, Andrey Kuzmin, Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Lidia Kelly)
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