Kremlin-appointed managers are turning seized foreign-owned businesses in Russia into donors to its army, with six businesses now contributing a combined 7.1 billion rubles. The seized units keep their familiar Western names while their Russian operations pay into the war effort.
The Seized Units
The Russian operations of Dutch paint maker AkzoNobel and Italy’s DKC Europe, both under the management of Timur Amirov, transferred a combined 3 billion rubles, about $36 million. The local unit of Danish insulation maker Rockwool, placed under a Russian company’s management, donated about $7.2 million. Bloomberg and Russian media compiled the figures.
These are businesses whose operational control was taken from their international owners and handed to Kremlin-appointed managers. Their familiar company names remain attached to operations now paying into Russia’s war effort. The distinction matters. Money from a seized Russian unit shows nothing about whether its foreign parent chose to fund Putin's army.
The Donor List Grows
The published donor figures also put CanPack at 1.5 billion rubles. Brewer AB InBev Efes reported a 1 billion-ruble donation for 2026, about $12 million. Metro’s Russian retail unit pledged another 1 billion rubles last month.
The main recipient is an organisation founded at Putin’s initiative in 2011. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it began a project to buy drones, vehicles, communications gear and electronic-warfare equipment for Russian forces. These payments are not some vague contribution to public life in Russia. They help equip the army attacking Ukraine.
These payments are not some vague contribution to public life in Russia. They help equip the army attacking Ukraine.
Who Moscow Spares
Large American companies operating in Russia have mostly avoided the same asset seizures. Bloomberg reports that Moscow wants better relations with the Trump administration and fears the United States’ ability to pursue sanctioned people and companies beyond its borders.
Putin’s predatory system is selective. It takes control of foreign businesses where it believes it can get away with it, then draws on their Russian operations to supply the war. Where the owner is American, the Kremlin weighs the diplomatic and enforcement costs differently.
