Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughter, Maria Putina, has fled her Dutch home as fury grows over Malaysia Airlines tragedy.
Maria Putina, 29, lived just 20 miles from the airport where the doomed jet departed from.
News that Maria Putina was living among a nation of people still fuming over Russia’s role in the downing of Flight MH17 was only going to spark more outrage.
Once it became known Maria Putina had a $3.2 million apartment not far from the Dutch airport where the doomed jet left on its final, tragic journey, the angry protests quickly started.
Maria Putina and her Dutch boyfriend, Jorrit Faasen, 34, who lived in a riverside flat in Voorschoten on the outskirts of the Dutch capital, fled amid the mounting fury.
One resident said tonight: “We have not seen her here since the plane went down.
“She moved in last year and it was all kept quiet for a while. But once it became known who she was, there was certainly some disquiet. And now this has happened. She is obviously not responsible for her father’s actions but we don’t want demonstrations around here.”
Many blame President Vladimir Putin for Malaysia Airlines disaster, insisting Kremlin chiefs supplied the missile that blasted the MH17 flight out of the sky at 30,000ft – killing 298 passengers and crew, including 193 Dutch.
Pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists control the region where it crashed. Although they deny being responsible and claim the Ukrainian shot it down in a blame game that last night was showing no sign of ending.
The bodies will be identified in the town of Hilversum, near Amsterdam.
Mayor Pieter Broertjes also spoke of his anger at the presence of Vladimir Putin’s daughter in Holland.
He said: “We could also deport Putin’s daughter, she lives in The Netherlands. Then you’ve got a whole different signal you could give.”
Pieter Broertjes later apologized for the comments and admitted they were “not wise”.
But he added: “They stemmed from a feeling of helplessness that many would recognize.”
Maria Putina’s position in Holland was made more perilous after Ukrainian activists published her address on websites.
Her whereabouts were last night unknown.
Vladimir Putin is reported to have a personal wealth of more than $65 billion, with properties around the world including a $320 million palace on the Black Sea.
Jorrit Faasen is also understood to be wealthy in his own right. He worked as an executive for Russian energy giant Gazprom.
There were reports Maria Putina and Jorrit Faasen could be back in Moscow where they can be better protected by Vladimir Putin.
The only existing pictures of Maria Putina are from when Vladimir Putin first came to power in 1999, when he was pictured with her, her sister Ekaterina, and his ex-wife Lyudmila.
Known as Masha to friends, Maria Putina was born in Petersburg and was named after her dad’s mother.
Maria Putina is thought to have studied biology at St Petersburg State University – where Vladimir Putin attended.
Vladimir Putin is extremely protective of his daughters’ privacy.
Yekaterina Putina, 27, is believed to have married the son of a South Korean admiral, though her life is also shrouded in mystery.
