Former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, centre, allegedly Vladimir Putin's girlfriend, has been pictured in public wearing a "Z" for victory brooch ©Twitter

Former gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, sanctioned by the United States and Britain as the alleged girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been photographed wearing a "Z" insignia brooch - a symbol representing "victory".

Kabaeva, who was an all-around rhythmic gymnastics champion at the Athens 2004 Games, was pictured at the opening of a sports centre, demonstrating her support for the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, kyivpost reports.

The insignia first came to international attention when it was seen painted on Russian military vehicles gathering on the Russian border with Ukraine in the weeks and days running up to the launch of its invasion on February 24.

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak received a one-year ban this year for wearing the
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak received a one-year ban this year for wearing the "Z" insignia in an International Gymnastics Federation event ©Getty Images

Earlier this year, Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak received a one-year ban from the International Gymnastics Federation for wearing the pro-invasion "Z" symbol on his singlet at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha in March.

The 39-year-old Kabaeva was a Member of the Russian Parliament, the State Duma, between 2007 and 2014 before taking up the position of chair of the Board of Directors of the National Media Group, Russia's largest media conglomerate.