Russia is burning American brands in Ukraine, and the White House is saying nothing. The targets are unmistakable, the tempo is new, and the silence from Washington is being read in Moscow as permission.
The Target List
Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, told CNN that Russian missiles and drones have recently damaged facilities belonging to Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald's, and Oreo. He said drones and missiles scored a direct hit and keep hitting them. "It's sending a message that they're targeting American business."
He says nothing like it has happened before in this war. Russia has tried to scare off American investors in the past. But not at this tempo.
The record backs him up:
- Early September: a Russian drone struck the Coca-Cola plant outside Kyiv. Zelensky called it "a clear signal from Russia to America" and said Moscow cannot possibly be unaware whose enterprise it is.
- Later that month: an attack drone destroyed a warehouse used by McDonald's.
- Hunder says the strikes keep coming.
Remember who sold this idea. Trump argued that American business presence in Ukraine would itself work as a security guarantee. Russia has been testing that guarantee with Shaheds ever since. And it keeps passing the test.
The Silence
Hunder stated directly, "We're not seeing any response from the White House." These are American interests, American money, and American investors being hit.
Compare that to the energy file. Trump has criticized Ukraine over the effect of its strikes on American interests. He has threatened to restrict intelligence sharing and munitions supplies if Ukrainian drones keep hitting Russian refineries.
So a Russian drone burning a Coca-Cola plant draws no reaction. A Ukrainian drone hitting a refinery that feeds Russia's war machine draws threats against the victim.
The Unanswered Request
The Chamber asked for a meeting with US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. No reply. American companies that stayed and invested in a country under bombardment cannot get a meeting with the people supposedly negotiating its future.
Moscow reads silence as permission. It is hitting these targets precisely because nobody in Washington is making it pay for doing so.
