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  • Categorieën

    • Gretchen Whitmer: FBI agent ‘bomb-maker’ in kidnap plot
    21 juli 2022

    Men who allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor in 2020 sought to buy bombs with “IOUs”, a court has heard.

    FBI agent Timothy Bates testified Monday that he had posed undercover as a bomb-maker and infiltrated the plotters’ group.

    The group was “excited” to buy bombs, but did not have the funds, he said.

    The government says the men are armed extremists who targeted Gretchen Whitmer over her Covid-19 policies.

    But lawyers for the four accused argue they were entrapped by the FBI.

    lees meer

    Accused Whitmer kidnap plotter slurs FBI informant in chilling testimony
    21 juli 2022

    Closing arguments and jury deliberations are expected Friday following a 14-day trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of the most closely watched cases of domestic terrorism in recent history.

    Testimony ended in federal court in Grand Rapids Thursday with just one of the four defendants testifying. Lake Orion resident Daniel Harris, 24, a Marine, denied joining any conspiracy during and during a combative cross examination, called an FBI informant a “b—-” and the government’s star witnesses “liars.”

    lees meer

    FBI Documents Expose Bureau‘s Big Jan. 6 ‘Lie‘
    21 juli 2022
    The bureau says it lacked the authority to monitor social media activity ahead of the pro-Trump insurrection, but it did exactly that during 2020 racial justice and police violence protests

    In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, the FBI told Congress and the American people that the agency had failed to prevent or fully prepare for the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in more than 200 years in part because it lacked the authority and capabilities to more aggressively monitor social media, where much of the planning for the insurrection took place.

    lees meer

    FBI paid over $100,000 to neo-Nazi for insider info – report
    21 juli 2022

    A convicted felon belonging to a US neo-Nazi hate group was paid over $100,000 by the FBI over the course of 18 years for information on the neo-Nazi underworld.

    A convicted felon linked to a US neo-Nazi hate group was paid over $100,000 by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) over the course of 18 years in order to provide information about his fellow group-members, a recent court document has revealed.

    lees meer

    The Conspiracy Theory About January 6 and the FBI Doesn’t Make Any Sense Fox News and House Republicans are still promoting it.
    21 juli 2022

    Last Thursday, in a press conference with the Right Side Broadcasting Network outside the United States Capitol on the anniversary of January 6, Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene spun an increasingly popular conspiracy theory to explain the horrific events that occurred: It was the Feds.

    “I’m starting to think this was less of an insurrection and more of a ‘fedsurrection,’” said Gaetz, offering a groan-inducing pun as proof of the seriousness of the allegations.

    After months of claiming that rioters were just harmless tourists, or that it was the work of antifa and Black Lives Matter plants, now several Republican members of Congress have pivoted, adopting a spurious claim that it was the FBI, specifically an agent provocateur named Ray Epps. Referred to throughout social media as #FedBoomer or #BigMagaCamo, Epps, these people claim, was a decisive figure in planning, inciting, and directing Trump supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6.

    lees meer

    How Trump supporter Ray Epps became entangled in a Trump-touted conspiracy theory
    21 juli 2022

    How Trump supporter Ray Epps became entangled in a Trump-touted

    Arizona Trump supporter Ray Epps on Jan. 6, 2021, told people: “As soon as our president is done speaking, we are going to the Capitol, where our problems are. It’s that direction. Please spread the word.” (Adriana Usero)

    lees meer

    Ray Epps, Trump supporter seen encouraging people to enter US Capitol, is not an FBI informant
    21 juli 2022

    The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection poked another hole in the pro-Trump conspiracy theory that federal agents orchestrated the attack, confirming on Tuesday that a man at the center of the claims said he’d never been an FBI informant.

    Ray Epps, an Arizona man who was filmed encouraging others to enter the U.S. Capitol, testified that he wasn’t “employed by, working with, or acting at the direction of any law enforcement agency on Jan. 5th or 6th or at any other time,” the committee tweeted on Tuesday.

    lees meer

    Everything we know about Ray Epps, the man conservatives blame for the Capitol riot
    21 juli 2022

    When Ray Epps, now 61, arrived in Washington DC in early January, 2021, he believed he was answering the call of his president.

    Mr Epps was one of the thousands of MAGA loyalists who believed former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election had been stolen. He also thought he and a throng of conservative allies would protest the election’s certification.

    The night before the Capitol riot on Jan 6, Mr Epps told a crowd of fellow Trump supporters that they should enter the Capitol. This exchange was caught on video. He did not call for violence, and later claimed that he was encouraging a peaceful protest inside the building.

    lees meer

    Jan. 6 provocateur Ray Epps intends to sue people who accused him of working for the authorities
    21 juli 2022

    Ray Epps, the former chapter leader of an anti-government militia group who was filmed corralling rioters to the Capitol on Jan. 6 just before the violence erupted, said he intends to sue the public figures who accused him of working with federal authorities that day.

    Epps told the New York Times that his life has been “hell” for the past 10 months as prominent members of the media such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and even former President Donald Trump, speculated that he may have agitated people to storm the Capitol at the behest of federal authorities.

    lees meer

    Everything we find out about Ray Epps, the person conservatives blame for the Capitol riot
    21 juli 2022

    When Ray Epps, now 61, arrived in Washington DC in early January, 2021, he believed he was answering the decision of his president.

    Mr Epps was one of many 1000’s of MAGA loyalists who believed former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election had been stolen. He additionally thought he and a throng of conservative allies would protest the election’s certification.

    The night time earlier than the Capitol riot on Jan 6, Mr Epps instructed a crowd of fellow Trump supporters that they need to enter the Capitol. This change was caught on video. He didn’t name for violence, and later claimed that he was encouraging a peaceable protest contained in the constructing.

    lees meer

    An alleged FBI file about an informant with the Proud Boys on Jan. 6 galvanizes the far-right They may have crowned a new Ray Epps.
    21 juli 2022
    Right-wing media is in an uproar over a purported Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) file they believe exonerates the Proud Boys of wrongdoing at the Capitol riot. The file was first published by the far-right Gateway Pundit, which says it received the file from a whistleblower. It contains the account of an alleged FBI informant who supposedly infiltrated the Kansas Proud Boys and traveled with them to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. The purported file includes transcripts of interviews, photos, and an FBI report about its communications with this informant.

    lees meer

    FBI enlisted Proud Boys leader to inform on antifa, lawyer says
    21 juli 2022

    The agents who met with Joseph Biggs wanted to know what he was “seeing on the ground,” his lawyer said, adding, “They spoke often.”

    FBI agents recruited a Proud Boys leader to provide them with information about antifa networks months before he was charged with storming the U.S. Capitol with other members of the far-right extremist group, a defense attorney says.

    Proud Boys “thought leader” and organizer Joseph Biggs agreed to provide the FBI with information about anti-fascist activists in Florida and elsewhere after an agent contacted him in late July 2020 and arranged to meet at a restaurant, Biggs’ lawyer, J. Daniel Hull, wrote Monday in a court filing.

    lees meer

    Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was an FBI informant
    21 juli 2022

    Extremist leader repeatedly worked undercover for investigators after his arrest in 2012, former prosecutor and court files reveal

    Enrique Tarrio, leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys leader during a march into Freedom Plaza, in Washington DC on 12 December 2020.

    Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters.

    lees meer

    Exclusive: Proud Boys leader was ‘prolific’ informer for law enforcement
    21 juli 2022

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters.

    In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio’s own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling.

    lees meer

    FBI informant and former Proud Boy chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio charged with seditious conspiracy
    21 juli 2022
    On Monday the US Department of Justice released a superseding indictment charging fascist Proud Boys chairman and “prolific” FBI informant, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, and four other members of the paramilitary group with seditious conspiracy for plotting to use violence to stop the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021, and overturn the election of Joe Biden. Over 30 members of the far-right militia have been charged for their actions on January 6.
    lees meer
    FBI agents infiltrated racial justice protests in Portland, report says
    21 juli 2022

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) covertly infiltrated the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests in Portland and continued their surveillance months after the unrest.

    Agents of the FBI stood “shoulder to shoulder” with activists, videotaping the demonstration and leading the local police towards potential arrests, according to a New York Times report.

    lees meer

    FBI secretly surveilled left-wing protesters during Portland riots by blending into the crowd and filming them for months after demonstrations died down
    21 juli 2022

    Agents began to monitor protests groups in the summer of 2020 during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations

    Surveillance was stepped up after rioters attacked the Matthew O. Hatfield courthouse in Portland

    A federal law enforcement agent was attacked with a hammer during that uprising

    Agents continued to observe the protest movement during a raucous demonstration of President Biden’s inaugeration

    lees meer

    FBI infiltrated racial justice protests in Portland: report
    21 juli 2022

    Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were dressed in plainclothes and embedded in Portland racial justice protests that followed the presidential inauguration, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

    The newspaper’s investigation found that the FBI had officers in the protests walking alongside activists, recording the scenes of the day and alerting local police to potential arrests.

    lees meer

    New York Times, “The F.B.I. Deployed Surveillance Teams Inside Portland Protests”
    21 juli 2022
    Federal agents infiltrated Portland’s unruly racial justice protests, dressing to blend in and capturing clandestine video. The tactics raised internal concern.PORTLAND, Ore. — In the hours after President Biden’s inauguration this year, protesters marched once again through the streets of Portland, Ore., sending a message that putting a Democrat in the White House would not resolve their problems with a system of policing and corporate wealth that they saw as fundamentally unfair. lees meer
    Post-9/11 Stings Targeted People Who Posed No Threat. They Remain in Prison.
    21 juli 2022

    In the “Fort Dix Five” case, the Duka brothers were convicted with the help of an FBI informant. Their family is still waiting for justice.

    Right up until his death in 2018, Ferik Duka dreamed of seeing his three eldest sons, Shain, Dritan, and Eljvir, freed from prison. In 2009, the three brothers were sentenced to life for their role in an alleged plot to attack the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. The convictions followed a terrorism sting led by then-U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Chris Christie that ran for over a year and involved multiple government informants. The brothers’ incarceration put an end to Ferik Duka’s immigrant dream: Decades earlier, he had brought his family to the United States from Albania in search of peace and opportunity.

    lees meer

    Fort Dix Five: ‘If they did something, punish them. But they’re innocent kids’ (2011)
    21 juli 2022
    The FBI claimed it had exposed a dangerous group of men in a massive ‘entrapment’ operation over an alleged plot to attack a US army base in New Jersey. But were they really terrorists?

    It all began with dropping off a video at a branch of Circuit City. A group of Muslim friends living in and around the suburban New Jersey town of Cherry Hill had just come back from a trip to the nearby Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania.

    lees meer

    The Pariah – He Declined the FBI’s Offer to Become an Informant. Then His Life Was Ruined.
    21 juli 2022

    Aswad Khan didn’t understand why people were congratulating him. On a February morning in 2017, rolling out of bed at his home in an upper-middle class area of Karachi, Pakistan, Khan saw a flurry of text messages, mostly from old college and high school friends, many living in the United States, that had arrived the night before. They were wishing him well about some good news that he had not yet received. Groggily, he scrolled through his phone and scanned the messages.

    lees meer

    How companies from Switzerland, Italy, and Germany help Russia circumvent sanctions to produce weapons
    30 juni 2022

    The investigation was prepared by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine together with the InformNapalm international intelligence community.

    Instead of a Foreword

    This is Berenne Alinovi. She has her own business in Barcelona, Spain. She sews cocktail and wedding dresses and creates jewelry with Swarovski crystals.

    And this is Inna Soloshenko from Lebedyn, Sumy Oblast, in a wedding dress. She married Mykhailo in 2019. In 2020, the woman gave birth to their son Yefrem.

    Recently, the life of the Soloshenko family was suddenly cut short. On March 12, 2022, a Russian tank fired point-blank at the car they were in.

    But this might not have happened, in particular, if some foreign companies had not helped the Russian Federation to produce weapons circumventing the sanctions imposed back in 2014.

    One of these companies, still working for the Russian military-industrial complex, is headed by Berenne’s husband, Roger Alinovi. Despite the sanctions, the Swiss company CODERE he manages continued to supply equipment to the sanctioned Elektromashina plant in Russia, which produces components for Russian tanks.

    Unfortunately, this company is not alone. Dozens of Swiss, Italian, and German firms make deals with Russian defense companies through shell companies and circumvent sanctions. They are doing that to earn billions of dollars while Russian missiles and tanks are killing innocent Ukrainians.

    Who Supplies the Equipment and to Whom

    The Elektromashina plant, which Alinovi cooperates with, is located in Russian Chelyabinsk and is part of the Uralvagonzavod Corporation. The Uralvagonzavod, in its turn, is a daughter company of Rostekh, a giant Russian state conglomerate operating in the civil and military industry.

    Now Uralvagonzavod is the only tank manufacturer in the Russian Federation. Elektromashina produces components for these tanks.

    In 2014, after Russia’s war against Ukraine started, Uralvagonzavod fell under EU sanctions, like many other companies. European companies would have to withdraw from joint projects and break any business ties with these enterprises. However, many companies did not do so.

    That’s why, back in 2016, Elektromashina bought new equipment – a thermal treatment line manufactured by the Swiss company CODERE SA. It was purchased for RUB 155.5 million through an intermediary, Galika-CTS company.

    At first glance, it might seem that the Swiss company might not be aware of the end clients for their equipment because they entered into a contract with another company rather than the Russian defense enterprise.

    However, this impression is wrong. The Swiss CODERE knew everything. The company announced cooperation with Elektromashina in 2013. It even held a conference with representatives of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Oboronprom Holding, the Russian embassy, and the business community of Switzerland.

    In addition to CODERE, numerous other firms cooperate with the Russian defense industry. One of them is the Swiss GF Machining Solutions.

    In 2018, the JSC Konstruktorskoe Buro Priborostroeniya (Instrument Design Bureau) in Tula received equipment worth more than RUB 722 million from the Swiss company GF Machining Solutions. In particular, the Russian company purchased 23 MIKRON HPM 600HD milling machines, 12 MIKRON HEM 500U milling machines, 1 AgieCharmilles FORM 20 die-sinking machine, and MIKRON HRM 1150U milling machine.

    This Russian company designs weapons. For instance, the Bureau produced the Pantsir surface-to-air missile and gun systems, which Russia uses in the war against Ukraine. Also, the Bureau develops systems of high-precision weapons of surface-to-surface, surface-to-air, and air-to-surface classes and designs grenade launchers, sniper rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, pistols, and revolvers.

    In 2017, Izhevsk Mechanical Plant in Udmurtia got an AgieCharmilles CUT 20 P wire-cutting EDM machine from the Swiss GF Machining Solutions for EUR 169,648.

    This equipment also helped strengthen the aggressive Russian army because the Izhmekh plant produces 86% of all small arms in the Russian Federation, including the Makarov and Yarygin pistols. By the way, they were found in the town of Dymer, Vyshgorodsky district, Kyiv Oblast, after the withdrawal of Russian troops. The locals of the village spent 35 days under Russian occupation. People are still scouring the neighboring forests, looking for their missing relatives tortured by the Russian military.

    Also, in 2018, the largest manufacturer of aircraft engines in the Russian Federation, PJSC ODK-UMPO (Ufa, Bashkortostan), received a universal grinding machine WALTER HELITRONIC MINI POWER for more than RUB 81 million from Walter, a German company.

    By the way, in 2018, ODK-UMPO began developing an engine for the SU-57 fighter. In May 2022, Russian propagandists boasted of testing the fifth-generation Su-57 fighters in the war against Ukraine.

    The Swiss manufacturer Fritz Studer AG also cooperates with Russia. In 2018, the company supplied two universal cylindrical grinding machines, Studer S21 CNC, to the largest aircraft and space engine building enterprise of the Russian Federation PJSC Kuznetsov in Samara. It cost more than RUB 316 million.

    By order of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Kuznetsov produces engines for the Tu-160 White Swan strategic bombers, deeply modernized Tu-160M, Tu-95MS, and long-range Tu-22M3 aircraft. Now the Russians are actively using all these aircraft in the war in Ukraine.

    And in 2019, the Swiss manufacturer fulfilled the order of the only company that produces missiles for the C-300 and C-400 anti-aircraft systems – JSC MMZ Avangard (Moscow). Russian troops near Kharkiv used those weapons – the S-400 and S-300 anti-aircraft missile divisions – in April 2022.

    The Russian client got a precision CNC cylindrical grinding machine with the function of processing external and internal threads S30 worth over EUR 382,000 from the Swiss company.

    In 2019, JSC NPP Kaluga Instrument-Making Plant Typhoon got a TNA 400 lathe worth EUR 260,000 from Index Traub, a German manufacturer. The Russian enterprise produces radar stations for surface ships of the Russian Navy and coastal missile systems. The Bal coastal missile system equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles is produced here. It is used for shelling Ukraine from Crimea.

    The Russian JSC “Chepetsky Mechanical Plant” (Glazov, Udmurtia) received a Planomat HP 412 CNC profile grinding machine for more than RUB 41 million from the German manufacturer Blohm Jung GmbH in the same year.

    The Chepetsk Mechanical Plant is part of Rosatom, whose employees took part in seizing the occupied Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. The enterprise also occupies one of the critical positions in the process cycle for producing nuclear fuel based on natural uranium.

    In the same year, the Italian manufacturer Hexagon Metrology S.p.A. sold a Micra Hexagon Metrology coordinate measuring machine worth over EUR 171,000 to the Russian JSC Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant KUPOL. KUPOL supplies the Russian Ministry of Defense with Tor air defense systems, which the Russians actively use in the war against Ukraine.

    In 2018, the Swiss manufacturer Sylvac SA sold an optical measuring system, the Scan 52 model, worth almost RUB 3 million to the Russians. The customer is JSC Novosibirsk Ammunition Plant, which produces cartridges for small arms, including caliber 7.62×51.

    The Tochnost (Precision) sniper rifles, which the Russian National Guard was armed with in 2017, have this caliber. According to Reuters, Vityaz, a special unit of the Russian National Guard, operated in Bucha. So, this Swiss company also contributed to the tragedy.

    How Companies Circumvent Sanctions

    Most of the aforementioned Russian enterprises are under sanctions. In particular, the sanctions lists include the Uralvagonzavod Corporation (which includes Elektromashina), JSC Instrument Design Bureau, Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (part of the Kalashnikov Concern), JSC Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant KUPOL, Ufa Motor-Building Production Association (ODK-UMPO, owned by United Engine-Construction Corporation JSC), Avangard MMZ JSC.

    Despite this, Italian, Swiss and German companies keep cooperating with the Russian defense industry. But, of course, they do it through the Swiss shell company, Galika AG, rather than directly. This company’s director is Lino Derungs, a Swiss citizen. However, he has been doing business in Russia since the early 1990s.

    Switzerland allegedly joined the sanctions against defense enterprises of the Russian Federation, which the US and the EU imposed due to the annexation of Crimea.

    “But we do not want to be perceived as a country taking sides. Therefore, we usually introduce monitoring to ensure that Russia or Russian companies do not use Switzerland to circumvent EU sanctions. Conversely, we ensure that European companies or other entities do not use Switzerland to circumvent them,” Yves Rossier, the then Swiss Ambassador to the Russian Federation, explained the situation in 2018.

    That same year, he promoted cooperation with representatives of Galika AG in the Perm Krai.

    Galika AG sells equipment in the Russian Federation through numerous branches. One of them is Galika CTS. Until 2020, Evgeny Georgievich Polkanov was the director of Galika CTS. In 2014-15, he was the deputy director of Stankoprom Holding, a part of Rostekh. Thus, it becomes clear why the Swiss company cooperates with the Russian defense industry.

    According to tender data, from 2016 to 2021, Galika CTS signed contracts worth RUB 1.4 billion with Russian clients. However, there may be many more of them because, after the sanctions were imposed in 2014-2015, most orders for defense enterprises of Rostekh were classified as secret.

    You can, of course, assume that European equipment manufacturers did not know to whom they supplied their products. However, they definitely did.

    For example, the Swiss manufacturer GF Machining Solutions became a member of the Russian-Swiss Competence Center in the field of micromachining technologies in June 2014.

    Walter Maschinenbau (Germany), which supplied machine tools worth EUR 2.37 million to the ODK-UMPO enterprise for producing engines for SU-57 fighters, also knew about the final recipient of its products. Here, we offer several arguments to prove this.

    •     Firstly, this expensive equipment must be installed, commissioned, and maintained by the manufacturer. Without it, such equipment is just a lump of iron.
    •     Secondly, considering the message on Facebook, in November 2020, Galika AG’s service manager Ivan Semenskoy flew from Sheremetyevo Airport (Moscow) to Ufa (Bashkortostan). ODK-UMPO, which ordered the expensive machine tools, is located right there. Marek Belzak from Poland liked Semenskoy’s post about this trip. This person is Walter Maschinenbau’s Sales Director for Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

    Fritz Studer AG, a German company, also agreed to supply equipment. In 2015, the Russian Federal Accreditation Service audited the company that certified equipment imported to the Russian Federation. It turned out that the German company authorized Galika AG to sell its machines there. It means that one firm in Switzerland produces machine tools, and another, which does not produce anything but only resells, represents the manufacturer in the Russian Federation.

    Index Traub, also a German company, not only supplies equipment to Russians but also opened an office in the Russian city of Tolyatti, Samara Oblast, in 2016. The company explained that this decision was made due to the “political situation.”

    “The current political situation requires us to localize our production in Russia so that we can participate in tenders of state-owned companies on an equal footing with other market participants,” the company said.

    Blohm Jung GmbH of Germany expressly states on its website that it is part of the UNITED GRINDING Group with dedicated subsidiaries for international markets in India, China, Russia, and the USA.

    All these companies help Russia produce weapons used in the war against Ukraine. They know about it but do not leave the Russian market anyway.

    Scandals Involving Galika AG

    Switzerland has long known that Galika AG is closely linked to Russia. In 2019, journalists discovered that the company had supplied equipment for producing Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela. However, the Swiss officials turned a blind eye to this fact.

    “In 2012, Galika AG from Volketswil in the canton of Zürich supplied machines for producing AK-103 assault rifles worth several million Swiss francs. The plant in the city of Maracay is due to start up by late 2019 and will produce 25,000 Kalashnikovs per year.

    The export ban did not apply to the equipment sold by Galika AG. It is because the equipment did not fall under the category of military materiel and was not considered so-called dual-use goods. We are talking about those machines that can be used for military purposes,” the media wrote.

    And last year, Galika AG applied to SECO, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, to obtain two permits to export to Russia: a Swiss-made milling machine and a lathe. It was claimed to be intended to make parts for medical devices.

    However, the Swiss intelligence service suspects that the documents are fake and the devices are intended for the military sector – the production of sensors for the SU-57 stealth multirole fighters. So far, the Russians have problems manufacturing parts for new jet fighters.

    After the permits had been denied, the company tried again to deliver the same machines to Russia. This time, it indicated that they were intended for a foil balloon toy company. Permits were denied again.

    In March 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine, Handelszeitung reported that Galika AG was again trying to supply equipment to Russia.

    What Happened after February 24, 2022?

    The Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation counted at least eight companies affiliated with the Swiss Galika AG in Russia.

    One of them is Galika-Met, registered in the city of Elektrostal near Moscow. According to public procurement data, by May 1, 2022, the company must supply, assemble, and put into operation a suite of process equipment from the Swiss GF Machining Solutions.

    It costs RUB 407 million. The customer is the aircraft engine-building company JSC Kuznetsov, a part of Rostekh.

    The GF Machining Solutions website reports that the Swiss company is represented in Russia by Galika AG. That is, the Swiss company GF Machining Solutions, through its representative Galika, sold and installed equipment at the defense enterprise of the aggressor country in May 2022.

    Earlier, in May 2020, Galika-Met supplied a coordinate measuring machine to the ODK. And in October of the same year, the defense enterprise produced the first batch of new engines for the upgraded Tu-160M strategic bombers, which Russia uses actively against the Ukrainians.

    Making Money on Ukrainians’ Blood

    Following the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, on July 31, 2014, the European Union imposed an embargo on imports and exports of arms to Russia, as well as banned exports of dual-use goods and technologies for military use to Russia or Russian military end-users. The EU also banned exports of goods and technologies that can be used for both military and civilian purposes. In addition, the EU has required exporters to obtain prior permission from member states’ competent authorities to export certain types of energy equipment and technologies to Russia.

    It means that the activities of all the Swiss, Italian, and German companies mentioned above are nothing more than the circumvention of EU sanctions to make a profit from the lives of Ukrainians.

    Of course, the Soloshenko family shot dead by a Russian tank cannot be brought back to life, but it is possible to block access to Western equipment for the Russian military industry. Thus, the competent authorities in the EU should pay attention to the activities of these companies, introduce new sanctions against them, and close the gaps in the sanctions policy.

    Posted By vasgri On

     

    Find this story on 17 June 2022

    Global arms industry getting shakeup by war in Ukraine – and China and US look like winners from Russia’s stumbles
    30 juni 2022

    Russia’s war in Ukraine is upending the global arms industry.

    As the U.S. and its allies pour significant sums of money into arming Ukraine and Russia bleeds tanks and personnel, countries across the world are rethinking defense budgets, materiel needs and military relationships. Countries that historically have had low levels of defense spending such as Japan and Germany are bulking up, while nations that purchase most of their weapons from Russia are questioning their reliability and future delivery.

    My research in this area suggests that, however this war eventually ends, the repercussions for the global defense industry, and for the countries whose companies dominate this sector, will be enormous. Here are four takeaways.

    1. Russia will be the biggest loser

    Russia’s general sales pitch for its weapons has been they’re “cheaper and easier to maintain than Western alternatives.” This is why Russia accounted for 19% of the world’s arms exports from 2017 to 2021, second only to the U.S., which had 39% of the market.

    However, this pitch may no longer be effective for many countries that have seen Russian equipment losses and failures in Ukraine.

    To date, the U.S. estimates Russia has lost almost a thousand tanks, at least 50 helicopters, 36 fighter-bombers and 350 artillery pieces, according to Business Insider. Thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, with estimates ranging from about 15,000 to as high as 30,000, and Russia is still unable to control Ukraine’s airspace.

    The situation has become so dire that there are reports that commanders are trying to preserve equipment by forbidding troops from using them to evacuate wounded soldiers or to support units that have advanced too far.

    Russia’s offensive weapons have also proved disappointing. Its missile failure rate – the share that either failed to launch, malfunctioned mid-flight or missed their target – may be as high as 50% to 60% due to design flaws and outdated or inferior equipment.

    These problems, along with the Russian military’s slow progress achieving any of President Vladimir Putin’s stated objectives, have raised serious doubts among the country’s traditional customers for weapons exports. Russia sells almost 90% of its weapons to just 10 countries, including India, Egypt and China.

    What’s more, Russia’s ability to replace these equipment losses has been hampered by economic sanctions, which bars key foreign components like circuit boards. And Russia will almost certainly need to replace its own military hardware before it exports anything abroad.

    That means that even countries that want to keep buying Russian tanks and fighter jets will have to wait in line or turn elsewhere to fulfill their defense needs.

    2. Russia’s loss is China’s gain

    The country that will likely see the greatest gains from Russia’s displacement as a major arms supplier is China.

    In recent years, the country has taken a 4.6% share of the global arms trade, putting it in fourth place behind France’s 11%. At the same time, seven of the top 20 global defense companies in terms of revenues earned from defense sales are Chinese, signaling the sector’s big ambitions.

    Currently, the Chinese government buys most of its weapons and vehicles from these domestic arms makers, but China has the capacity to export more military products abroad.

    For example, China is already the world’s largest shipbuilder, so exporting more naval ships is a natural next step. The country is expanding its niche role in drone technology and attempting to leverage modernizing its air force with domestically built aircraft to increase exports.

    At the moment, only three of the world’s 40 biggest arms importers – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar – buy a majority of their weapons from China. That could change if China takes advantage of Russian weakness to position itself as a reliable national security, economic and political partner – a core feature of its Belt and Road Initiative.

    China is not capable of supplanting U.S. and European weapons, which are considered “top shelf” because of their high quality and price. But China may well fill the market niche that Russian arms makers dominated, thereby increasing Beijing’s role as a major weapons exporter – and gaining the political and economic benefits that accompany that.

    One of China’s biggest challenges will involve proving that its weapons work well in live combat situations.

    3. American arms makers will also be big winners

    U.S. weapons manufactures dominate the global arms industry. The Ukraine war will likely ensure this stays that way for some time.

    The world’s five largest arms companies are all American: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. In fact, half of the top 100 producers of arms are based in the U.S. Twenty are European. Only two are Russian – despite the country being the world’s second-largest source of arms.

    The massive amounts of weapons being transferred from the U.S. to Ukraine will keep American arms makers busy for some time to come. For example, the U.S. has transferred about one-third of its stock of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, and it will take three to four years for the Raytheon-Lockheed Martin joint venture to replace them. The US$40 billion aid package recently signed by President Joe Biden includes $8.7 billion to replenish U.S. weapons stocks.

    The companies’ soaring stock prices are a sign investors believe profitable days are ahead. Lockheed Martin’s stock price is up over 12% since the invasion began – with most of the gains occurring in its immediate aftermath. Northrop Grumman has jumped 20%. At the same time, the broader stock market as measured by the S&P 500 has slumped about 4%.

    4. More countries will become arms makers

    The flipside to this is that some countries that relied on others for their defense needs may seek to become more self-sufficient.

    India, which relied on Russia for almost half of its weapons imports in recent years, is realizing that Russia will need most or all of its production capacity to replace tanks, missiles, aircraft and other weapons used or lost in Ukraine, with less leftover for export.

    That means India will need to either source spare parts for vehicles and weapons from other former Russia arms customers such as Bulgaria, Georgia and Poland, or build up its own defense industry. In April, India announced it would ramp up production of helicopters, tank engines, missiles and early airborne warning systems to offset any potential reduction in Russian exports.

    Concerns about Russian reliability are also growing. In May, India canceled a $520 million helicopter deal with Russia. While there are reports U.S. pressure played a role, it also seems to be part of the government’s strategy over the past few years to build its own domestic defense industrial base.

    Brazil, Turkey and other emerging market countries have also been developing their own defense industries over the past two decades to reduce their reliance on arms imports. The Ukraine war will accelerate this process.

    Putin likely didn’t expect to shake up the global arms market with his effort to annex Ukraine – or cause the decline of his country’s weapons sector. But that’s just one more way his war is causing a geopolitical earthquake.

    This article has been updated to correct the size of the canceled Indian helicopter deal.

    Find this story at 7 June 2022

    Who armed Russia?
    30 juni 2022

    Despite the embargo imposed in 2014, at least ten EU countries sold military equipment and weapons to the Russian Federation. According to the Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM) and all EU-27 arms export registers, between 2015 and 2020, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain sold weapons worth a total of €346 million to Russia.

    For the most part, the countries used a loophole in EU rules to continue trade. The Working Party explained that the EU arms embargo contained the following exception: “Contracts signed before August 1, 2014, or ancillary contracts required to perform such agreements. Those contained in the database must be subject to this exception. The member states are responsible for ensuring compliance with the arms embargo and the EU’s common position.”

    However, the conclusion is not so simple. Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), points to a difference between regular economic trade and arms exports, “Weapons are part of our foreign policy, not economic policy. Political reasons are the main thing.”

    France made the most significant contribution to Russia’s military arsenal by supplying it with infrared guidance systems. According to Disclose, France sold equipment worth €152 million to Russia.

    Since 2015, France has supplied bombs, missiles, rockets, torpedoes, explosives, direct lethal weapons, day and night fire control cameras for fighters and missile systems, and thermal imagers. The number of licenses issued by France jumped in 2015, immediately after the embargo was imposed.

    In 2014, French authorities gave permission to send chemical, biological and radioactive materials as well as related equipment. In 2016, France’s General Secretariat for Defense and National Security approved eight applications for warranty repair and replacement of equipment. However, the French government claims that only equipment left from the previously concluded contracts was supplied.

    French President Emmanuel Macron’s behavior could be explained by the fact that after the defeat of Russia many “unpleasant” facts might be revealed.

    Germany ranks second. According to Investigate Europe, it exported military equipment worth €121.8 million to Russia. The major volume of weapons was exported in 2015. The report says then Germany sold two rescue icebreakers for €119 million. The website of the manufacturer, Nordic Yards, indicates the icebreakers Bering Strait and Murman are intended for search and rescue operations, towing, and environmental protection efforts in case of emergency oil spills. In 2017, Germany sold hydrazine – fuel for rocket engines and spacecraft – for €2.5 million to Russia.

    In addition, Germany delivered dual-purpose goods worth €366 million. That’s why the German politicians who slammed arms exports do not consider these supplies a violation of the embargo. According to the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, the deliveries included a variety of high-tech electronics, sensors and lasers that can be used in the manufacture of weapons. The export of these goods was finally banned in the fourth sanctions package.

    Italy comes third. From 2015 to 2020, it sold military equipment for a total of €22.5 million. The first major contract was concluded in 2015. The government headed by Matteo Renzi allowed the Italian company Iveco to sell vehicles worth €25 million to Russia. Lynce armored vehicles manufactured by Iveco were spotted by a journalist of LA7 TV channel at the front in Ukraine in early March. According to Istat, Italy’s National Institute of Statistics, in January-November 2021 Italy supplied weapons and ammunition worth €21.9 million.

    In 2015-2019, the Czech Republic exported aircraft, drones, aircraft engines and equipment. Every year, Austria sold Russia smoothbore weapons with calibers under 20mm, 12.7mm automatic weapons, ammunition installation devices, detonators and their components. Bulgaria, under two contracts in 2016 and 2018, exported military ships and other vessels, special naval equipment, accessories and components, and technology for the development, production or use of products included in the EU Common Military List to the tune of €16.5 million.

    Finland, Spain, Slovakia and Croatia each made one export delivery to Russia, though much smaller than in previous years.

    However, according to SIPRI data on arms exports, there is an even more interesting fact: not only EU countries have sold weapons to Russia since the 2014 embargo. It is about not about weapons but licenses for their manufacture. According to SIPRI senior researcher Siemon Wezeman, these were 15 Antonov-148 transport aircraft manufactured at the Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in Russia.

    In mid-April 2022, the European Commission approved the fifth sanctions package, closing the legal loophole in the 2014 embargo that had allowed deliveries of arms and dual-purpose goods to Russia.

    By Anna Neplii.

    Find this story at 28 June 2022
    Ukraine calls out Italian metal company for “supporting Russia’s military complex”
    30 juni 2022

    Ukraine calls out Italian metal company for “supporting Russia’s military complex” Credit: Creative Commons

    The Defence of Ukraine called out an Italian steel-plant company for its collaboration with Russia, in supplying equipment allegedly destined to produce nuclear submarines and tank armour.

    Taking to Twitter to publicly call out the Italian company and its support of Russia, the Defence of Ukraine posted:

    “After four months of the large-scale war, Italian-based #Danieli still collaborates with russian plants, supplying equipment to produce nuclear submarines and tank armor. Supporting russian military complex goes against lawful and moral considerations. #BoycottRussia”

     

    Credit: Twitter @DefenceU

    Twitter users responded quickly to the Defence of Ukraine’s tweet on the Italian company , with one user posting: “Don’t EU sanction prevent this sort of crap?”

    Another user posted:  “It’s in the bl**dy logo right there, just have a look”

    Another user said: “What a horror story, this. The 🇮🇹s, as @mraz1313 often & rightly says, should be made to feel shame. Capital can be the dirty bedfellow of#AnAilingConscience”

    “Some people’s greed amazes me,” stated another Twitter user.

    The Italian company, Danieli Group,  is an Italian supplier of equipment and physical plants in the metal industry. Based in the north-eastern Italian territory of  Butrrio, the company is reportedly a world leader in its field.

    The news of Ukraine calling out the Italian company follows various European countries issuing further sanctions on Russia, with Norway stating:

    “We support the European Union in imposing sanctions against Russia in order to put pressure on the government of that country and its leadership. Now we are banning the import of oil from Russia to Norway via sea routes.”

    By Joshua Manning • 20 June 2022 • 14:59

     

    Find this story at 20 June 2022

    Italian company accused of supplying Russian military, even after invasion
    30 juni 2022

    According to the message, these shipments have been ongoing even after Feb. 24 – the day Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    “Supporting Russian military (-industrial) complex goes against lawful and moral considerations,” the ministry said.

     

    ·1 min read

     

    Find this story at 21 June 2022

    Over 1,000 Companies Have Curtailed Operations in Russia—But Some Remain
    30 juni 2022

    Since the invasion of Ukraine began, we have been tracking the responses of well over 1,200 companies, and counting. Over 1,000 companies have publicly announced they are voluntarily curtailing operations in Russia to some degree beyond the bare minimum legally required by international sanctions — but some companies have continued to operate in Russia undeterred.

    Originally a simple “withdraw” vs. “remain” list, our list of companies now consists of five categories—graded on a school-style letter grade scale of A-F for the completeness of withdrawal.

    The list below is updated continuously by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his team of experts, research fellows, and students at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute to reflect new announcements from companies in as close to real time as possible.

    Our list has already garnered extensive coverage for its role in helping catalyze the mass corporate exodus from Russia.

    When this list was first published the week of February 28, only several dozen companies had announced their departure. We are humbled that our list helped galvanize nearly 1,000 companies to withdraw in the two months since.

    Although we are pleased that our list has been widely circulated across company boardrooms, government officials, and media outlets as the most authoritative and comprehensive record of this powerful, historic movement, we are most inspired by the thousands of messages we have received from readers across the globe, especially those from Ukraine, and we continue to welcome your tips – preferably with documentation – as well as your insights, and feedback, at jeffrey.sonnenfeld.celi@yale.edu.

    For a sortable, detailed version of the list below, please visit our enhanced database where you can filter companies by letter grade, country, sector, and much more.

    Click here to watch President Zelenskyy’s interactive Q&A, hosted by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and live-streamed by CNBC, with over 150 top US CEOs at the Yale CEO Summit in June 2022, and click here to read about President Zelenskyy’s key lessons for business leaders.

    Click here to read our recent SSRN working paper on the response across financial markets to our list, in which we demonstrate that investors are penalizing companies that remain in Russia.

    If you want to get in touch with the “D”-rated and “F”-rated companies found here, you may locate contact information on this non-Yale affiliated website: www.emailcontactukraine.com. We do not endorse nor certify the accuracy of this list of addresses, but in response to frequent requests, we are aware of this external non-Yale resource.

    Companies that are just continuing business-as-usual in Russia…

    Name Action Industry Country
    Acerinox still operating in Russia Materials Spain
    Agrana continue operating plant in Russia Consumer Staples Austria
    Agricultural Bank of China Russian companies open accounts with the bank; decline to comment Financials China
    Aimbridge | Interstate Hotels still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Air China still flying to Russia Industrials China
    Air Serbia still flying to Russia Industrials Serbia
    Alibaba still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary China
    Align Technology still operating in Russia Health Care United States
    Alpina Žiri distributors in Russia Consumer Discretionary Slovenia
    Alumil Not disclosed publicly Materials Greece
    Anadolu Efes still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Turkey
    ANT Group joint venture with the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund Information Technology China
    Anta Sports still operating and providing online sales to Russia Consumer Discretionary China
    Antal still operating and actively hiring in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    AnyDesk Software still providing services to Russia; not disclosed publicly Information Technology Germany
    Ariston Group still operating and actively hiring in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Asics still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Auchan-Retail still operating in Russia Consumer Staples France
    AVL still operating in Russia Industrials Austria
    B. Braun still operating in Russia Health Care Germany
    Babolat still operating and selling to Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Bajaj Auto business as usual Consumer Discretionary India
    Bekaert still manufacturing for the Russian market Industrials Belgium
    Benetton continue operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) bought 2 million barrels of Russian Urals for May loading Energy India
    Binbit Operating in Russia Communication Services Mexico
    Boggi still operating in Russia & online sales running Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Bonduelle still operating in Russia Consumer Staples France
    BPW still cooperating with dealers in Russia; not disclosed publicly Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Buzzi Unicem continue operating plants in Russia Materials Italy
    Cadence still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Information Technology United States
    Calzedonia continue sales in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Camille Albane franchised salons continue to operate Consumer Discretionary France
    CANPACK still operating in Russia Materials Poland
    Carl’s Jr. | CLK still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Cham Wings still flying to Russia Industrials Syria
    Charoen Pokphand Foods still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Thailand
    Check Point Software selling cybersecurity products in Russia Information Technology Israel
    China Communications Construction Company planning new infrastructural projects Industrials China
    China Construction Bank Russian companies open accounts with the bank; decline to comment Financials China
    China Life Insurance Company offices in Russia, actively looks for new Russian employees Financials China
    China Minmetals discussing investments with Chinese government to booster stakes in Russian energy and commodity companies Materials China
    China Mobile business as usual Communication Services China
    China National Petroleum Corporation business as usual Energy China
    China Railway Construction Corporation continues to build Vladivostok highway in March 2022 Industrials China
    China Railway Engineering Corporation business as usual Industrials China
    China State Construction Engineering contractor to the Russian state Industrials China
    China State Railway Group Company increasing coal shipments from Russia Industrials China
    China United Network Communications a subsidiary in Russia: China Unicom (Russia) Operations Limited Liability Company; business as usual Communication Services China
    Chipita Not disclosed publicly; still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Greece
    Clarins still selling online in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    CLINTON still operating in Russia (Camp David) Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Cloudflare continue sales & services in Russia Information Technology United States
    Coal India expecting highest import level in 2 years Energy India
    Cofix Coffee maintains locations in Russia Consumer Staples Israel
    Colin’s still selling online Consumer Discretionary Turkey
    Corendon Airlines still flying to Russia Industrials Turkey
    Covestro still operating in Russia Materials Germany
    Cremonini Group continue sales in Russia Consumer Staples Italy
    De Cecco continue sales and operations in Russia Consumer Staples Italy
    Deep in Russia still offering trips to Russia Industrials Belgium
    Dessange International still operating salons in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Didi explicitly reversed decision to exit Russia Industrials China
    Diesel still operating in Russia; not disclosed Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Doka still manufacturing in Russia; not disclosed Industrials Austria
    Dr Reddys Labs business as usual; plans new brands in Russia Health Care India
    Duol still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Slovenia
    Egger still operating in Russia Industrials Austria
    Egyptair still flying to Russia Industrials Egypt
    ELA Container still selling in Russia Industrials Germany
    ElvalHalcor Not disclosed publicly Materials Greece
    Emirates Airlines still flying to Russia Industrials United Arab Emirates
    EMS-Chemie still operating in Russia Materials Switzerland
    Etam still selling to Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Etihad Airways still flying to Russia Industrials United Arab Emirates
    Eutelsat provide satellite TV services to Russia Communication Services France
    Faurecia still operating and advertising in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    FAW Group remains silent on whether they will continue operations Industrials China
    Fenzi Group still operating in Russia Industrials Italy
    Fischer Sports still selling online Consumer Discretionary Austria
    Fleetcor business as usual Financials United States
    Fluidra continuing sales in Russia Industrials Spain
    Fondital still operating and investing in Russia Industrials Italy
    Foraco still operating in Russia Energy France
    Forever Living Products still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Freedom Holding still operating in Russia Financials Kazakhstan
    Fresenius still operating in Russia Health Care Germany
    Frigoglass still operating in Russia Industrials Greece
    Fujifilm still operating and advertising in Russia Information Technology Japan
    Gedeon Richter still operating in Russia Health Care Hungary
    Geoplin still purchasing Russian gas from Gazprom Energy Slovenia
    Giorgio Armani still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Global Fashion Group still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Luxembourg
    Globus still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    Gorenje still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Slovenia
    Groupe Le Duff still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Groupe Savencia still operates in Russia Consumer Staples France
    Grupo Borges | ITLV still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Spain
    Grupo Fuertes still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Spain
    Haier planning expansion in Russia Consumer Discretionary China
    Hampidjan still operating in Russia Industrials Iceland
    Hard Rock Café still operating in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Heliski Russia cooperating with sanctioned individuals Industrials France
    Hengli Group business as usual Energy China
    Heraeus still operating in Russia Industrials Germany
    Herend still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Hungary
    Hindalco business as usual Materials India
    Hoffmann Group still operating and advertising in Russia Industrials Germany
    Honor business as usual Information Technology China
    Huntsman Corporation still operating in Russia Materials United States
    Ideal Molde still selling to Russia Industrials Portugal
    Indian Oil Corporation signed new deal to import Russian oil Energy India
    Industrial Bank (China) offices operating in Moscow, did not answer for Reuters’ calls for commenting on that Financials China
    International Baccalaureate Organization still offers professional development services to Russian teachers NGO Netherlands
    International Paper still operating in Russia Materials United States
    IQVIA still operating and actively hiring Industrials United States
    Itochu continues oil & gas exploration partnerships Consumer Staples Japan
    JD.com business as usual – the Russian store is still fully operational Industrials China
    JDE Peet’s still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Netherlands
    Jean Cacharel still selling and advertising in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    JSW Steel business as usual Materials India
    Kemin still operating in Russia; declined to commend Health Care United States
    Kidzania Operating facility in Russia Communication Services Mexico
    KION Group still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Industrials Germany
    Kleemann Not disclosed publicly Industrials Greece
    Knarr Maritime members still operating in Russia Industrials Iceland
    Koch Industries considering options for an exit; continuing operations Industrials United States
    Kotanyi still exporting to Russia Consumer Staples Austria
    Koton still advertising and selling to Russia Consumer Discretionary Turkey
    Krka still operating in Russia Health Care Slovenia
    Kronospan still operating in Russia Materials Austria
    Kweichow Moutai business as usual Consumer Staples China
    La Redoute still selling products to Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Lacoste still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    LACTALIS still operating in Russia Consumer Staples France
    Larsen & Toubro business as usual Real Estate India
    Legrand still operating in Russia Industrials France
    Lemken still operating and advertising in Russia Industrials Germany
    Leptos Estates continues operations in Russia Real Estate Cyprus
    Leroy Merlin still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Letique Cosmetics maintains stores in Russia Consumer Staples Latvia
    Liebherr No action taken; still operating in Russia Industrials Switzerland
    LiSEC still operating in Russia Industrials Austria
    Luka Koper continuing trans shipments Industrials Slovenia
    Mahindra & Mahindra business as usual Consumer Discretionary India
    Mahle still operating in Russia Industrials Germany
    Makita still working with dealers in Russia Industrials Japan
    Makrochem SA still operating in Russia Industrials Poland
    Match Group continue to operate in Russia including Tinder Communication Services United States
    Maxam still operating in Russia Materials Spain
    Medtronic continue operating subsidiary in Russia Health Care United States
    Micro-Star International Co. (MSi) still operating in Russia Information Technology Taiwan
    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries still operating in Russia Industrials Japan
    Mitsui continuing operations within sanctions compliance & shares in Sakhalin-2 project Materials Japan
    Mizuho Financial Group still operating in Russia Financials Japan
    Mod’s Hair still operates in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    MOLGroup still operating in Russia Energy Hungary
    MSU S.A. still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Poland
    New Yorker Marketing & Media GmbH continue to operate and open new stores Industrials Germany
    Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation continues to operate cloud services in Russia Communication Services Japan
    NIS Serbia partnership with Gazprom Neft; Gazprom has a 50% stake in NIS Energy Serbia
    Oasis Logistics Corp “We are actively exploring opportunities to work with our Russian partners” Industrials China
    OBO Bettermann still operating in Russia Industrials Germany
    OCSiAl still running research center and branch Information Technology Luxembourg
    OKI still operating in Russia; not disclosed Information Technology Japan
    ONGC aggressive selling of Russian Sokoil to other Indian Nationalised Energy corps Energy India
    Oppo business as usual Information Technology China
    Orano still operating in Russia Energy France
    Paccar still active in Russia; deny comments Industrials United States
    Patreon still providing services to Russia Financials United States
    Pegasus still flying to Russia Industrials Turkey
    Perfetti Van Melle still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Consumer Staples Italy
    Philips online sales still available in Russia Consumer Discretionary Netherlands
    Pidilite Ind business as usual Materials India
    Plastika Kritis Not disclosed publicly Materials Greece
    Poly Real Estate a sister company is Poly Technologies, one of China’s largest arms exporters and has been sanctioned by the United States; in Russian tax registry Real Estate China
    Posco operating through a Russian subsidiary Materials South Korea
    PowerChina cooperating with a Russian bank “Solidarnost” on off-shore projectes Energy China
    Projahn still operating in Russia through a subsidiary Industrials Germany
    Provalliance Group (Jean Louis David) affiliates still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Qatar Airways still flying to Russia Industrials Qatar
    Quicksilver online sales still running Consumer Discretionary United States
    Raba maintain commerical ties with Russian Kamaz Industrials Hungary
    Rabe Moden still advertising and selling to Russia via Telegram Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Raiffeisen Bank International still operating in Russia Financials Austria
    Remondis still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Industrials Germany
    Riko still operating in Russa Industrials Slovenia
    Riot Games still operating in and selling to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Royal Swinkels Family Brewers still providing Russia with a license to brew products; intention to terminate the license Consumer Staples Netherlands
    Russia Fachspedition Dr. Lassmann still operating in Russia Industrials Austria
    SAIC Motor remains operational; plans to increase export Industrials China
    Sanatmetal still operating in Russia Health Care Hungary
    Sany Heavy Industries business as usual Industrials China
    Sarantis still operating in Russia Consumer Staples Greece
    Sbarro Pizza still operating in Russia and allowing placing online orders Consumer Discretionary United States
    Schoeller Bleckmann still operating in Russia Industrials Austria
    Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation defies US sanctions by continuting to export to Russia Information Technology China
    SGS still operating and actively advertising in Russia Industrials Switzerland
    Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical business as usual Health Care China
    Siemens Healthineers continue to support healthcare providers Health Care Germany
    Signet Armorite operating in Russia through a subsidiary Consumer Discretionary United States
    Sika still operating in Russia Industrials Switzerland
    Sisecam still operating in Russia through subsidiaries Materials Turkey
    SMC still operating in Russia Industrials Japan
    Société Bic still operating and actively hiring in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Stada Arzneimittel still operating in Russia Health Care Germany
    State Grid Corporation of China business as usual Utilities China
    Storck continue candy sales in Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    Stryker continue sales and imports to Russia Health Care United States
    Sun Pharma business as usual Health Care India
    SWISS KRONO still operating plant in Russia Industrials Switzerland
    Syngenta still operating in Russia Health Care China
    Synopsys still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Information Technology United States
    Sæplast not publically disclosed Materials Iceland
    Talgo still operating in Russia Industrials Spain
    Tencent major investment in VK Communication Services China
    Tenneco still operating in Russia; deny comments Consumer Discretionary United States
    TEPCO continues purchases of Russian gas Utilities Japan
    Teva no action taken; still operating Russia Health Care Israel
    TGI Friday’s still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    The China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association big power plants and about 20 Russian coal companies discussed plans to increase bilateral trade Energy China
    Titan International still operating in Russia Industrials United States
    Tom Ford still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Consumer Discretionary United States
    Tupperware still operating and actively hiring in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Turkish Airlines still flying to Russia Industrials Turkey
    UniCredit Still operating in Russia Financials Italy
    Uzbekistan Airways still flying to Russia Industrials Uzbekistan
    Valeo still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Valve still providing services to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Vanke business as usual Real Estate China
    Veolia still operating in Russia Utilities France
    Vinci SA still operating in Russia Industrials France
    Vivo still operating in Russia Industrials China
    Wanhua Chemical Group still operating in Russia Materials China
    Wienerberger still operating in Russia Industrials Austria
    WIKA still operating in Russia Industrials Germany
    Wolffkran still operating in Russia Industrials Switzerland
    Xibao Metallurgy Materials Group building a refractory material plant in Lipetsk, Russia Industrials China
    Yazaki operating in Russia through a subsidiary Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Yokogawa still operating in Russia; not disclosed publicly Information Technology Japan
    Zepter still advertising and selling to Russia Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    Zimmer Biomet continues sales in Russia Health Care United States
    ZTE business as usual Information Technology China
    Zwack Not disclosed publicly Consumer Staples Hungary

    Buying Time

    Holding Off New Investments/Development (160 Companies) (Grade: D)

    Companies postponing future planned investment/development/marketing while continuing substantive business…

    Name Action Industry Country
    Aalberts continue operations on an unspecified “lower” level & postpone investments Industrials Netherlands
    Abbott Laboratories suspend non-essential business activity Health Care United States
    Abbvie suspend aesthetics operations, pause new clinical trials Health Care United States
    Accor suspend new investments/development Consumer Discretionary France
    Accumalux still operating plant in Togliatti, Russia Consumer Discretionary Luxembourg
    Aegon ending new investments where has control over fund Financials Netherlands
    Air Liquide Some clients no longer supplied, others scaled down; all Russian investments on hold Materials France
    Airbus suspend supply of parts and deliveries/servicing, t but continue substantial titanium purchases from Russia Industrials Netherlands
    Akrapovič still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Slovenia
    Alcon suspend new investments and new clinical trial enrollment in Russia Health Care Switzerland
    AmerisourceBergen cease new business initiatives but continue existing clinical trials, and distributing health products Health Care United States
    Andbank investigate if Russian customers are subject to European sanctions Financials Andorra
    Andritz suspend unspecified new business in Russia for time being Industrials Austria
    Anecoop diverting sales away from Russia Consumer Staples Spain
    Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) unspecified scaling down of non-essential operations Consumer Staples United States
    Arconic pause new contracts but continue existing Materials United States
    AstraZeneca halt new investments/new clinical trials Health Care United Kingdom
    Aurubis AG monitor situation and review structures of Russian business partners Industrials Germany
    Aviva suspend new Russian investments Financials United Kingdom
    Bang & Bonsomer suspend new investments but still operating in Russia Materials Finland
    Barilla all new investments and advertising activities on hold; limit Russia production to pasta and bread Consumer Staples Italy
    Barry Callebaut suspend capital investment Consumer Staples Switzerland
    Bayer stopping unspecified non-essential business activity Health Care Germany
    Binance restrict Russian accounts with over €10,000 Financials China
    BlaBlaCar Stopped new investment but stays in Russia Information Technology France
    Boiron suspend new investments & stop clinical trials Health Care France
    Bolt remove all Russia-manufactured and Russian-branded goods Information Technology Estonia
    Bristol-Myers Squibb pause new trials & stop enrollment of new participants; still actively hiring in Russia Health Care United States
    Calfrac Well Services suspension of new investments in Russia Energy Canada
    Campari continue sales in Russia but suspend new investments Consumer Staples Italy
    CAPRI Holdings (Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Cho) online orders unavailable but still advertising; no information about on-site sales Consumer Discretionary United States
    Cargill unspecified scaling down of non-essential operations Consumer Staples United States
    Carmim suspend some orders in backlog Consumer Staples Portugal
    Citadele Banka still allows transactions to Russia but introduced more thorough checks Financials Latvia
    Colgate-Palmolive continue essential health and hygiene products Consumer Staples United States
    Corticeira Amorim commerical activity suspended Materials Portugal
    Crèdit Andorrà investigate if Russian customers are subject to European sanctions Financials Andorra
    Danone suspend all investment projects but continue dairy products; suspend imports of Evian and Alpro products Consumer Staples France
    Deceuninck stop investments & cut links with other establishments Industrials Belgium
    Delonghi paused new shipments and investments Consumer Discretionary Italy
    DMK Group suspend new investments/advertising but continue sales and plant operations in Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    Domino’s Pizza suspend royalty payments & limit investment – restaurants remain open Consumer Discretionary United States
    dōTERRA suspend new investment in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Dr. Theiss suspend advertisement Health Care Germany
    Ecco suspend new investments still operating in Russia Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    Eesti Gaas continues to import Russian gas but is looking for alternatives Energy Estonia
    Ehrmann continue sales in Russia but suspend new investments Consumer Staples Germany
    Ekosem Agrar AG restructuring finances Consumer Staples Germany
    Eli Lilly suspend new investments and clinical trials Health Care United States
    Engie no new investments Utilities France
    ESL ban people with ties to Russian government NGO Germany
    FL Smidth no new business Industrials Denmark
    FM Global stopped renewing and underwriting new reinsurance Financials United States
    Focus Brands – Cinnabon no new investments and expansion plans on hold Industrials United States
    Freelancer still operating in Russia; sanctioned payment menthods disabled Information Technology Australia
    Freudenberg Group cease trading operations with Russia & Belarus; running plants in Russia Industrials Germany
    GEA Group suspend new investments Industrials Germany
    Geox suspend new investments Consumer Discretionary Italy
    GlaxoSmithKline stopped advertising/new clinical trials in Russia Health Care United Kingdom
    Glencore stop entering into new Russian commodities trading contracts but continue holding substantive Russian equity stakes Materials Switzerland
    Greif canceled future investments in Russia Materials United States
    GROUPE LIMAGRAIN/JACQUET-BROSSARD continues flows to Russian and Ukrainian producers but suspends its project to build a seed factory in Russia Industrials France
    Groupe Seb suspend new investments and “sharply” reduce activities in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Gruma halt new investments in Russia Consumer Staples Mexico
    GXO Logistics suspend new investments Industrials United States
    HeidelbergCement suspend all further investments Materials Germany
    Hellenic Bank maintain rep offices in Russia; observe all banking sactions Financials Cyprus
    Hellenic Petroleum seeks new oil supplier to replace Russian oil Energy Greece
    HERZ no new business in Russia Consumer Discretionary Austria
    Hilton suspend new investments/close corporate office Consumer Discretionary United States
    Hines suspend new investments in Russia Industrials United States
    HiPP suspend investments in Russia but continue substantive operations Consumer Staples Switzerland
    Hochland suspend investments but continues sales and plant operations in Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    HSBC curtail Russian access to capital markets and limit new business Financials United Kingdom
    Huawei suspend new orders and furlough some staff Information Technology China
    Hyatt suspend investments and new developments Consumer Discretionary United States
    Icosagen not start any new projects Industrials Estonia
    ID Logistics suspend new investment in Russia Industrials France
    ING Bank pause all new business Financials Netherlands
    Ingram Micro no new business in Russia Information Technology United States
    Intercontinental Hotels ended new investments/closed corporate office Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Intermedia move some employees out of Russia and ambiguous reduction of risk exposure to Russia Communication Services United States
    Intesa Sanpaolo suspend new investments and curtail new financing Financials Italy
    J. Neves & Fihos (JNF) paused distribution Industrials Portugal
    Japan Tobacco stopped new investments and marketing activities in Russia Consumer Staples Japan
    Johnson & Johnson pause patient enrollment in ongoing trials Health Care United States
    KCA Deutag suspend investments Energy United Kingdom
    KDDI Corp continue operations with local staff Communication Services Japan
    Kimberly-Clark suspend new investments in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Knauf still operating across 14 sites in Russia but suspend new investments Materials Germany
    Kraft Heinz – JBS stopped new investments and exports/imports from Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Kubíček VHS stop cooperation Industrials Czech Republic
    Laboratoire Servier suspending new investments but still operating in Russia Health Care France
    Lenovo reported to suspend operations in Russia Information Technology Hong Kong
    Loulis Mills search for alternative suppliers Consumer Staples Greece
    Maire Tecnimonet suspended commercial activities; managing existing backlog Industrials Italy
    Manitowoc stopped taking new orders, still maintaining office in Russia Industrials United States
    Marel paused new projects Consumer Staples Iceland
    Mavenir continue operating in Russia but very limited curtailment of some activities Information Technology United States
    Melamin making up for shortfall from sanctions Materials Slovenia
    Menarini Group stop advertisement and new investments; continue operating plant in Russia Health Care Italy
    Merck no further investments/clinical trial enrollment Health Care United States
    Merck still operating and actively hiring in Russia; restrict transactions Health Care Germany
    Metro stop all growth investments and reduce advertisements Consumer Staples Germany
    Mocapor paused exports Industrials Portugal
    Mohawk Industries suspend new investments in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Mondelez – Nabisco scaling back unspecified non-essential activities in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    National Oilwell Varco suspend all new investments in Russia Energy United States
    Nature’s Sunshine suspend shipments into Russia but not sales Consumer Staples United States
    Naust Marine stopped projects in Russia Industrials Iceland
    Nestle halted non-essential imports/exports to Russia, stopped all advertising, and suspended all capital investment Consumer Staples Switzerland
    Nippon Steel searching to replace Russian supplies Materials Japan
    Nor-Maali stop further investments Industrials Finland
    Novartis pause all new capital investments, media advertising and other promotions; pause new clinical trials and enrollment of new patients Health Care Switzerland
    Novo Nordisk suspend further marketing and clinical investment; pause new clinical trials and active enrollment Health Care Denmark
    NTPC difficulty in transacting with Russian counterparties due to SWIFT issues etc Utilities India
    Olam Group ceased imports into Russia Consumer Staples Singapore
    OMV no new Russian investments; doing strategic review of current Russian gas investments Energy Austria
    Palfinger reduced production Industrials Austria
    Pfizer stopped new investments/clinical trials in Russia Health Care United States
    Polpharma stop all new investments and limit deliveries to essential drugs only Health Care Poland
    Pottinger limited deliveries to Russia sales subsidiary Industrials Austria
    Procter & Gamble scale back unspecified operations in Russia and stop new investments Consumer Staples United States
    Red Bull suspend new investments Consumer Staples Austria
    RHI Magnesita selling down existing stocks in Russia Industrials Austria
    Ritter Sport halt new investments and advertising Consumer Staples Germany
    Roche pause new site activation and patient enrollment; continue operating Health Care Switzerland
    Rockwool cancel new investments in Russia Industrials Denmark
    Saipem halt new investments Industrials Italy
    Sanofi halting advertising and promotional spending and new recruitment of patients clinical trials, continue medical supply and treating current patients Health Care France
    Sarens new projects cancelled Industrials Belgium
    SC Johnson stopped new investments and scaled back unspecified operations Consumer Staples United States
    Schlumberger stopped new investment and technology deployment to our Russia operations Energy United States
    SCHOTT suspend investments in Russia Materials Germany
    Siemens Energy AG (Independent) freeze new business in Russia Industrials Germany
    Sigma Group Stop cooperation Industrials Czech Republic
    Signify suspend only exports to Russia and investments and new business Consumer Discretionary Netherlands
    Snap halt advertisement Communication Services United States
    Soudal cancel investments in a brand new factory in Russia; but maintain other activities Materials Belgium
    SRV outline steps to stop procurement of building materials from Russia Materials Finland
    Subway suspend new investments/advertising Consumer Staples United States
    Sumitomo Mitsui Financial continue operations with local staff Financials Japan
    Technip Energies continuing existing projects; no new business Energy France
    TMF Group suspend new contracts; cotinue supporting current customers Industrials Netherlands
    TOM Tailor no official statement; online sales suspended but advertising continues Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Toshiba Group stop all new investments in Russia Information Technology Japan
    Toshulin Stopped cooperation Industrials Czech Republic
    Toyota Tsusho Stopped exports and imports of auto parts to and from Russia Materials Japan
    TZMO stopped new investments Consumer Staples Poland
    Unilever stopped inports/exports and stopped all advertising and investments Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    UnionPay Suspended issuing bank cards to Russian Banks Financials China
    Vestas continue operations but no new contracts Energy Denmark
    Vimeo not accept new customers from Russia Communication Services United States
    Weatherford International suspend new investments/deployments in Russia Energy United States
    Welltec suspend all new investments in Russia Energy Denmark
    Wintershall Dea AG maintain Russian natural gas projects and critical infrastructure; write-off Nord Stream2 loans Energy Germany
    Xiaomi reported to suspend operations in Russia Information Technology China
    Yokohama decision to renew production in Russia despite previous announcements to halt production Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Young Living suspend new investments in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Yves Rocher suspend new investments/development Consumer Staples France

    Scaling Back

    Reducing Current Operations (168 Companies) (Grade: C)

    Companies that are scaling back some significant business operations but continuing some others…

    Name Action Industry Country
    ABB temporarily pausing all new orders and operational activity Industrials Switzerland
    Activision Blizzard suspend new sales of and in our games in Russia Communication Services United States
    Adobe suspend all new sales in Russia and Belarus; current services continue Information Technology United States
    AGCO stop sale of new machines to Russia Industrials United States
    AkzoNobel suspend new investments in Russia; end Aerospace work Materials Netherlands
    Allianz meaningfully reduce exposure to Russia Financials Germany
    Alphabet withdraw all operations in Moscow; stop taking new customers; stop ads Communication Services United States
    Amadeus IT Group suspend partnership with Aeroflot Information Technology Spain
    Amgen suspend all non-essential business activities; keep delivering some medicines Health Care United States
    AmRest suspend operations with some brands in Russia Consumer Discretionary Spain
    ASBIS amends contracts following new sanctions Information Technology Cyprus
    Aspo reducing operations in Russia Industrials Finland
    Avaya limit certain services; cease new maintenance and support arrangements Information Technology United States
    Bacardi paused exports to Russia but not domestic operations Consumer Staples Bermuda
    Bank of Cyprus maintain loan book; observe banking sanctions Financials Cyprus
    Beiersdorf maintain skin and bodycare products; stop other products Consumer Staples Germany
    Black Red White divesting from Russian subsidiary, still has a significant stake in a company operating in Belarus, which also suspended Russian exports Consumer Discretionary Poland
    BNY Mellon suspend new business activity and investments; continue cooperation with current clients Financials United States
    Boehringer Ingelheim scale back to just supplying medicine Health Care Germany
    Bosch suspend some shipments and plants but not all Industrials Germany
    Boston Scientific suspend all new investment and non-essential activity Health Care United States
    Brenntag suspend exports to Russia; no information about local operations Materials Germany
    Bucher Industries not specified business activities in Russia were reduced “substantially” Industrials Switzerland
    Bunge suspend exports but continue certain domestic Consumer Staples United States
    Bureau Veritas scaled back Industrials France
    Carl Zeiss Health Care Germany
    Carrier not pursue new business opportunities but continue fulfilling existing contracts Industrials United States
    Carter’s | Oshkosh stop all shipments of merchandise to Russia Industrials United States
    Caterpillar suspend minor Russian manufacturing facilities but not import sales Industrials United States
    CHR Hansen suspend operations outside of staple food products Materials Denmark
    Coca-Cola suspend certain operations in Russia but continue to operate some chains (Costa Coffee) Consumer Staples United States
    Coinbase block certain illicit Russian accounts but not all Financials United States
    Confor Step Stopped producing or shipping to Russia Consumer Discretionary Portugal
    Continental resumed local production after having previously suspended Russian factory Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Corning suspend almost all sales in Russia except minor life-saving products Information Technology United States
    Credit Suisse stop new business in Russia while meaningfully cutting exposure by 56% Financials Switzerland
    Danske Bank ban Russian investments in customers’ portfolios Financials Denmark
    DB Schenker suspend direct shipments to Russia; continue Europe to Kazakhstan and Russia to Kazakhstan routes Industrials Germany
    Deere suspend shipments into Russia only Industrials United States
    Discord suspend renewal of paid and premium products and services for Russian clients; free services still available Communication Services United States
    Donaldson Company stop direct product shipments into Russia & Belarus; no statement about operations inside Russia nor about partnerships Industrials United States
    Dover Corporation ramping down sales activity and focusing on liquidating working capital Industrials United States
    Dow suspend investments/some purchases but not all Materials United States
    Duolingo make services free and stop gaining revenue Information Technology United States
    E.ON stop buying new Russian gas Utilities Germany
    Eaton stop shipments to Russia; maintains services Industrials United States
    Eimskip reduced operation in Russia Industrials Iceland
    Elanco scale back to critical products to ensure food security Health Care United States
    Elsevier suspended all sales except essential health products Communication Services Netherlands
    Eni suspend stipulation of new oil contracts; divest from investmens for rubles Energy Italy
    Epic Games stop in-game commerce for Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Esri curtail sales to Russia; no information about Russian office Information Technology United Kingdom
    Ferrero suspend non-essential business activity Consumer Staples Italy
    Fieldfisher terminate certain Russian relationships Industrials United Kingdom
    FIGMA continue current business & stop all new sales efforts in Russia Information Technology United States
    Fortive suspend most operations except medical essentials Industrials United States
    Gap Inc online sales running; stopped shipments to franchisees in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Garmin stop all future trade with Russia; still provide GPS services to devices in Russia (incl. Russian military) Consumer Discretionary United States
    GE stopped sales in Russia and Belarus except medical equipment and support for electric power generation and transmission Industrials United States
    General Mills suspended sales of global brands in its JV Consumer Staples United States
    Geodis suspend services in Russia & reduce shipments to and from Russia significantly Industrials France
    Georg Fischer temporary suspension of deliveries to Russia Industrials Switzerland
    Goldman Sachs wind down business in Russia but buy Russian debt Financials United States
    Groupe BPCE suspend many transactions and cease new financing Financials France
    Halliburton suspend future business in Russia and wind down certain contracts Energy United States
    Hellenic Bottling Company vaguely suspend some operations in Russia Consumer Staples Greece
    Herbalife suspend sales and shipments to Russia but independent sellers remain operational Consumer Staples United States
    HILTI limiting sales and workforce in Russia Industrials Liechtenstein
    Hostinger stop accepting payments for new purchases and renewals Information Technology Lithuania
    Idemitsu Kosan stop coal imports; lubricants business unchanged Energy Japan
    Indesit suspend production due to “full warehouses” Consumer Discretionary Italy
    IndusInd Bank can no longer clear rupee rouble conversions Financials India
    Ingersoll Rand scale back to only health critical services Industrials United States
    Ingka stop all exports, IKEA production; keep open retail centers (Mega) Consumer Discretionary Netherlands
    Inspire Brands (Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robins) halt corporate support for franchisees Consumer Discretionary United States
    International Biathlon Union Russians to compete as neutral athletes NGO Austria
    IPG Photonics suspend new investments and reduce manufacturing in Russia Information Technology United States
    Iskratel paused some business with Russia Communication Services Slovenia
    Iveco suspend deliveries to Russia; truck JV still in operations Industrials Italy
    J&T Finance Group curb its activities in Russia Financials Slovakia
    Jägermeister paused business with Russia & Belarus and discontinue marketing; no information about Consumer Staples Germany
    JPMorgan wind down business in Russia but buy Russian debt Financials United States
    Julius Baer wind down Russian office, suspend new business in Russia, reduce current exposure; retain current Russian clients Financials Switzerland
    Kearney suspend new work with Russian clients Industrials United States
    Kellogg suspend new investments except essentials (minor) Consumer Staples United States
    Kotak Mahindra paused transaction through cards in Russia Financials India
    Kuehne + Nagel AG suspend all shipments to Russia (except Pharma, healthcare and humanitarian supplies) Industrials Switzerland
    Legal & General reduce exposure Financials United Kingdom
    Linde divest certain industrial assets and suspend new development/investments Materials Germany
    Lotos stopped purchasing Russian spot oil Energy Poland
    Loyalty Ventures scale back most services and stop new sales Consumer Discretionary United States
    Luxottica restrict Russian operations to medical services Consumer Discretionary Italy
    LyondellBasell end all business with state-controlled entities Materials Netherlands
    Mars scale back business and stopped advertising/new investments/exports in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Marubeni scaling down but still in numerous projects across Russia Industrials Japan
    Maruti Suzuki suspend car exports Consumer Discretionary India
    Mashreqbank halt loans to Russia Financials United Arab Emirates
    Microsoft suspend new sales in Russia but continue existing access Information Technology United States
    Miele suspend operations except exempt healthcare Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Milliken & Co still operating in Russia Materials United States
    Miro close office in Moscow & pause new sales Information Technology Netherlands
    Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Japanese expats working for MUFG Bank (Eurasia) have moved out of Russia to work outside of the country on a temporary basis Financials Japan
    Moody’s suspend commercial operations within Russia Financials United States
    Nalco Water (Ecolab) suspended services except services critical to health Industrials United States
    Natura suspend some subsidiary operations but not all Consumer Staples United States
    Nemetschek Group suspend any new business in Russia & all business with sanctioned entities Information Technology Germany
    NielsenIQ suspend consulting service but not core business Industrials United States
    Nokian Tyres meaningfully reduce production in Russia Consumer Discretionary Finland
    Nordea Bank stop processing payments to and from Russia & Belarus Financials Finland
    Norsk Hydro reduced deliveries and supplies to the contractual minimum for some commitments, and is suspending deliveries and supply in several contracts Materials Norway
    Okta halt new sales to Russia but continue supporting current customers Information Technology United States
    Oriflame Cosmetics suspend online sales to end consumers but not others Consumer Staples Switzerland
    Orion stop exports to Russia Health Care Finland
    Orsted end coal and biomass purchases, refuse to pay for gas in roubles Utilities Denmark
    Otis Worldwide exploring options for exit; while no new investments/new contracts but fulfill existing agreements Industrials United States
    OTP Bank wind down corporate lending Financials Hungary
    Paul Wurth stopped new business, closed sites, and scaled back serviceds Industrials Luxembourg
    Pepsi suspend operations in Russia except essentials Consumer Staples United States
    Phibro Animal Health Corp curtail some operations (i.e. ethanol) and substantial sales hit Health Care United States
    Philip Morris explore strategic alternatives, while stop new investments including $150MM, paused marketing, canceled product launches Consumer Staples United States
    Pirelli suspend new investments in Russia and scale back production Consumer Discretionary Italy
    PKN Orlen SA stopped maritime oil shipments, diversifying supply Energy Poland
    Playtika temporarily block new downloads games in Russia Information Technology Israel
    PPG scale back majority of operations and suspend new investments in Russia Materials United States
    Rational suspend deliveries to Russia but retain operations inside Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Rosenbauer no new business; continue servicing fire engine pumps in Russian JV Industrials Austria
    Royal DSM stopped all operations in Russia other than basic food/feed/essential health activities Materials Netherlands
    Sabre suspend certain partnerships with Aeroflot Information Technology United States
    Saint-Gobain suspend exports and imports but not local operations Industrials France
    SAP stop all sales to Russia and shut down cloud operations but some carveouts Information Technology Germany
    SBI stopped processing transactions of sanctioned Russian entities Financials India
    Schaeffler stop deliveries to Russia; continue manufacturing in Russia Industrials Germany
    Scopely suspend marketing and commerce Communication Services United States
    Shutterstock not accept new contributors from Russia; continue current businesses & still offer services to Russia Communication Services United States
    SHV suspend new investments, new projects, new exports; continue to work with suppliers and customers in Russia Energy Netherlands
    Signet Jewelers suspend business interaction with Russian-owned entities; no information about other Russian customers Consumer Discretionary United States
    Sinopec suspend $500MM new investment and significant operations and partnerships Energy China
    Skadden suspend certain operations in Russia but not all Industrials United States
    Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken scaling down operations in Russia Financials Sweden
    Sketchers suspended shipments to Russia but online sales continue Consumer Discretionary United States
    Spotify closed office and suspend service but still allow Kremlin-associated artists (e.g. Gazmanov, Gagarina) Communication Services Sweden
    Tchibo suspend coffee deliveries but not other lines Consumer Staples Germany
    Tennant substantially suspending sales to Russia Industrials United States
    Terex Corporation stop accepting new orders from continuing dealer network in Russia Industrials United States
    Tetra Pak stopped new investments and scaled down activities Industrials Sweden
    ThyssenKrupp Stopped new business and investments. Closed plant Materials Germany
    Tikkurila reduce Russian operations; stop sales to aerospace; consider exiting Russia Materials Finland
    Tokio Marine suspend new contracts and repatriate employees Financials Japan
    TomTom turn off live traffic for Russia, cut ties with several Russian customers, some customers are still under review Information Technology Netherlands
    Total Energies no longer will provide capital for new projects in Russia/stop purchasing Russian oil; withdraw from Acrtic LNG 2 project Energy France
    Toyota stop production at its St. Petersburg plant and stop imports of vehicles; no statement about retail operations and services inside Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Trafigura freeze investments and stop purchasing crude oil from Rosneft; maintain shareholding in Russia Energy Singapore
    Triglav Group not renewing or entering into new business Financials Slovenia
    Tungsram stopped producing products and projects Utilities Hungary
    U.S. Polo Assn. stopped all shipments of goods into Russia and shut down all branded digital operations but phased approach to closing physical stores Consumer Discretionary United States
    UBS suspend new business in Russia and reduce current exposure by helping clients unwind Russia securities; reducing Russian client services Financials Switzerland
    Uniper SE suspend new Russian gas purchases/divest Unipro Utilities Germany
    Vaillant Group stop delivering appliances; no statement about work inside Russia Industrials Germany
    Valentino suspend online sales; no information about on-site sales Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Vattenfall shifting energy purchases away from Russia Utilities Sweden
    Wartsila suspend all deliveries and new sales to Russia; continue ongoing projects Industrials Finland
    Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp stopped sales to Russia Industrials United States
    Whirlpool limiting production in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Wilo stop shipments to and from Russia; no comment about production in Russia Industrials Germany
    Wolters Kluwer scale back to just health products in Russia Financials Netherlands
    Yum Brands suspend operations of company-owned restaurants and new investments in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    ZF Friedrichshafen stop all deliveries to Russia; maintain JVs Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Zoetis suspend investments & focus on supply of medicines and vaccines Health Care United States

    Suspension

    Keeping Options Open for Return (496 Companies) (Grade: B)

    Companies temporarily curtailing most or nearly all operations while keeping return options open…

    Name Action Industry Country
    3M suspend operations in Russia Industrials United States
    AAK halted delivery and sales Consumer Staples Sweden
    Abrdn suspend investments in Russia and reduce exposure Financials United Kingdom
    ACCA suspend operations in Russia and Belarus Industrials United Kingdom
    Acer suspend its business in Russia Information Technology Taiwan
    Acne Studios put all Russian activities on hold Consumer Discretionary Sweden
    Adamed halt sales and production in Russia Health Care Poland
    Adidas suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    ADP suspend sales/services to Russia Information Technology United States
    AICPA suspend sale and delivery of services indefinitely Industrials United States
    Air Astana suspend flights to Russia Industrials Kazakhstan
    Air France halt flight to and from Russia Industrials France
    Air Malta suspend all flights to and from Russia Industrials Malta
    Airbnb block bookings and block accepting guests in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Akamai suspend sales in Russia Information Technology United States
    Akin Gump suspend operations in Russia Industrials United States
    AL-KO Vehicle Technology suspend deliveries to Russia and Belarus Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Alaska Airlines temporarily suspend partnership with Russian airline Industrials United States
    Alimentation Couche-Tard suspend operations Consumer Staples Canada
    Alstom suspend shipments to Russia Industrials France
    AM Best suspend all commercial activities to Russian clients Information Technology United States
    Amazon suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Ambarella suspend shipments into Russia Information Technology United States
    AMD suspend all sales to Russia Information Technology United States
    Amdocs stop all new sales of product and services in Russia Information Technology United States
    Amer Sports suspend all commercial activities in Russia Consumer Discretionary Finland
    American Airlines pause agreements with Russian airlines Industrials United States
    American Express suspend operations in Russia Financials United States
    Amica suspended Russian exports Consumer Discretionary Poland
    Amway suspend operations in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Analog Devices suspend sales to Russia according to sanctions Information Technology United States
    Ansys suspend all sales and business activity Information Technology United States
    Aon PLC suspend operations in Russia Financials United Kingdom
    Apple suspend all official site sales; turn off select apps and services Information Technology United States
    Arla suspends all operations Consumer Staples Denmark
    ARM suspend shipments according to sanctions Information Technology United Kingdom
    Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials China
    Asos suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Association of International Certified Professional Accountants indefinite suspension of services within Russia Industrials United States
    Aston Martin suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Asus suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology Taiwan
    Atlas Copco suspend deliveries in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Atlassian suspend software sales to Russia Information Technology Australia
    Audi suspend operations at Kaluga assembly plant Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Austrian Airlines cancel Russian flights until July Industrials Austria
    Authentic Brands Group – Reebok successfully completed suspension of all operations Consumer Discretionary United States
    Autodesk suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Avast suspend all operations in Russia Information Technology Czech Republic
    AXA stop underwriting new insurance & stop renewals Financials France
    AXA Investments Managers pause investments & prohibit new subscriptions Financials France
    Azerbaijan Airlines suspend flights to Russia Industrials Azerbaijan
    B Lab suspend Russian companies from obtaining certifications NGO United States
    Badminton World Federation cancel all tournaments NGO Malaysia
    Bain suspend consulting for all Russian businesses Industrials United States
    Baker Hughes no longer provide engineering services to Russian LNG developers Energy United States
    Bang & Olufsen suspended deliveries and sales to Russia Information Technology Denmark
    Bank of China curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials China
    BCG suspend operations; Moscow office open Industrials United States
    Bentley suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Bentley Systems pause sales to Russia & Belarus Information Technology United States
    Big Fish Games suspend downloadable game business in Russia Communication Services United States
    Bitdefender suspend all sales to Russia Information Technology Romania
    BlackBerry cease all activities in Russia Information Technology Canada
    BMC suspend all business with Russia & Belarus Information Technology United States
    BMW suspend exports to and production in Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    BNP Paribas suspend new business in Russia/curtail financing Financials France
    Boeing suspend operations in Russia/titanium purchases Industrials United States
    Bombardier restrict Russian business Industrials Canada
    Boohoo Group suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Booking suspend bookings in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Boosteroid Cloud Gaming suspend services to Russia Information Technology United Arab Emirates
    Boryszew suspended operations in Russia Materials Poland
    Brav suspend sales and operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Norway
    Bridgestone Tire suspend manufacturing in Russia and shipments into Consumer Discretionary Japan
    British Airways cancel Russian flights Industrials United Kingdom
    Brown-Forman suspend commercial operations in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    BUDVAR Centrum Sp. z.o.o. Industrials Poland
    Budweiser Budvar suspends production and supply of beer Consumer Staples Czech Republic
    Bulgaria Air suspend flights to Russia Industrials Bulgaria
    Bulgarian Postbank stop operations in Russian ruble Financials Bulgaria
    bunq.com suspend SWIFT transfers to sanctioned banks Financials Netherlands
    Burberry suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Burger King (Restaurant Brands) halt corporate support for franchises Consumer Staples United States
    Buta Airways suspend flights to Russia Industrials Azerbaijan
    Canada Goose suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Canada
    Canadian Tire close Russia stores Consumer Discretionary Canada
    Canon suspend deliveries in Russia Information Technology Japan
    Canonical suspend support & professional services Information Technology United Kingdom
    Capgemini stop services to Russia Information Technology France
    Cargolux suspend all shipments into and through Russia Industrials Luxembourg
    Cargotec stop all sales to Russia & Belarus Industrials Finland
    CBRE discontinue Russian business Real Estate United States
    CCC suspends operations in Russia (delivery to Russia, further expansion) Consumer Discretionary Poland
    CD Projekt suspends sales of products in Russia & Belarus Communication Services Poland
    CERN suspend Russia’s obeserver status; halt new collaborations NGO Switzerland
    Chanel suspend all operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Chevron Pausing all transactions and sales of refining products, lubricants, and chemicals Energy United States
    Chipperfield suspend operations in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Cie Automotives temporarily shut down aluminum plant Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Ciena suspend business operations in Russia Communication Services United States
    Citi expand the scope of the exit process Financials United States
    Citrix suspend all sales to Russia Information Technology United States
    Cleary Gottlieb suspend Russian operations Industrials United States
    Clorox suspend business activity in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Clutch suspend all business activity Industrials United States
    CMA CGM suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials France
    CME Group suspend acceptance of certain Russian commodities Financials United States
    CNH Industrial suspend sales to Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Cogent Communications cut all internet to Russia Communication Services United States
    Columbia Sportswear pause taking any new orders from Russian distributor & remove future sales Consumer Discretionary United States
    Commerzbank suspend operations in Russia Financials Germany
    Conde Nast suspend all publishing operations Communication Services United States
    Conformis suspend distribution operations in Russia Health Care United States
    Costco stopped purchases from Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Coupa suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Coursera platform available; refrain from financial benefits from the region; suspend some content Consumer Discretionary United States
    Credit Agricole suspend all services in Russia Financials France
    Crocs suspend D2C business Consumer Discretionary United States
    Curve no longer allow Russian payment cards & transaction in RUB Financials United Kingdom
    Cyprus Airways suspend flights to Russia Industrials Cyprus
    d&b audiotechnik suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    DACHSER suspend deliveries to Russia Industrials Germany
    Daimler Truck freeze activities in Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Damen stop supplying ships to Russia, halt new contracts Industrials Netherlands
    Danaher suspended shipments to Russia except for humanitarian medical products Health Care United States
    Dassault Aviation suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials France
    Dassault Systèmes suspend business operations in Russia Information Technology France
    Debevoise & Plimpton Wind down Russia operations; local partners and counsel open Russian business Industrials United States
    Decathlon suspend the operation of its stores in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Deckers suspend business in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Dell suspend all shipments to Russia Information Technology United States
    Demant suspend all trade with Russia Health Care Denmark
    Denso suspend all shipments into Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Depositphotos stop all sales and services to Russia Consumer Discretionary Ukraine
    DHL suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Germany
    Diadora suspend contracts with Russian commercial partners Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Diageo suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Diebold Nixdorf suspend shipments and sales of any kind into Russia. Information Technology United States
    DirecTV cut Kremlin backed TV networks Communication Services United States
    Discover suspend efforts to establish Russian presence Communication Services United States
    Disney pause new content releases Communication Services United States
    DJI stop selling drones in Russia Information Technology China
    DKV Mobility stop all activity for Russian domestic business Information Technology Germany
    Dreamstime restrict download plans and payments for Russian customers Communication Services United States
    DSV A/S suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Denmark
    DuPont suspend operations in Russia and Belarus Materials United States
    eBay suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    EDF suspend Moscow office Utilities France
    eDreams ODIGEO cease all operations involving Russia Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Edrington suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Egon Zehnder stop operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Electrolux suspending all shipments into Russia Consumer Discretionary Sweden
    Elopak suspends all activities Materials Norway
    Embraer suspend supplying parts and services to Russia Industrials Brazil
    Epiroc pause all deliveries to Russia and no operations domestically Consumer Staples Sweden
    Eppendorf SE suspend exports to Russia; keep rep office open Health Care Germany
    Epson suspend exports to Russia & Belarus Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Equinix suspend Russian partnerships and customers Real Estate United States
    Ericsson suspend all shipments to Russia Information Technology Sweden
    ESET suspend all sales to Russia Information Technology Slovakia
    Estee Lauder suspend operations in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    European University Association cease cooperation with governmental agencies in Russia NGO Belgium
    Exiger halting all activity and due diligence in Russia Industrials United States
    Exor holding company’s assets are suspending operations Financials Netherlands
    Famur suspend Russian exports Industrials Poland
    Farfetch suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    FedEx suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials United States
    Ferragamo suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Ferrari suspend sales in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    FIBA ban Russian teams and officials from participating in basketball events NGO Switzerland
    FIDE suspend Russian & Belarussian teams from participation in tournaments NGO Switzerland
    FIFA ban Russian athletes from competing Industrials Switzerland
    Finnlines suspend all traffic to Russia Industrials Finland
    Fitch suspend operations in Russia Financials United States
    Fiverr suspend business Consumer Discretionary Israel
    Ford suspend joint ventures in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) suspend all trading certificates in Russia & Belarus and block all controlled wood sourcing from the two countries NGO Germany
    Fortinet suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Foster + Partners stop work on projects in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Fugro suspend all projects in Russia Industrials Netherlands
    Fujitsu cease orders and shipments to Russia Information Technology Japan
    Galp suspend Russian oil-product purchases; eliminate Russian exposure Energy Portugal
    Ganni freeze all trade with Russia Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    Geberit discontinue all operations in Russia but continue to pay employees Industrials Switzerland
    Gestamp stopped production Consumer Discretionary Spain
    GetYourGuide suspend all Russian operations Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    GM suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Goodyear suspend shipments of tires to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Grainpro suspend all operations in Russia Materials United States
    Grammarly block users located in Russia and Belarus from using products or services Information Technology United States
    Graphisoft suspended new activities, disabled access to our commercial services in Russia Information Technology Hungary
    Grundfos suspend all operations and sales in Russia Industrials Denmark
    Grupa Azoty stopped exporting its products to Russia or Belarus Materials Poland
    Grupo Antolín suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Grupo Bimbo Suspended distribution of the Bimbo Brand at retail, but left Moscow Bimbo QSR plant operating for food service products Consumer Staples Mexico
    H&M suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Sweden
    Hannover Re halt underwriting business Financials Germany
    Hapag Lloyd suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Germany
    HARIBO suspend production to Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    Harley-Davidson suspending all business in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Hasbro pause toy shipments o Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Hermes suspend all operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Herzog & de Meuron suspend work on Russian projects Industrials Switzerland
    Hexagon freeze all business activities Information Technology Sweden
    HHLA suspend entry of Russian shipments at owned ports Financials Germany
    Hitachi Construction suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Japan
    HMM suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials South Korea
    Honda suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Honey Group suspend sales to Russia Consumer Staples Finland
    Honeywell suspend virtually all sales in Russia Industrials United States
    Hugo Boss temporarily close stores and e-commerce sites Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Hunkemoller suspend operations of on-site and online stores Consumer Discretionary Netherlands
    Husqvarna stop exports to Russia & halt investments Consumer Discretionary Sweden
    Hyundai suspend manufacturing in Russia Consumer Discretionary South Korea
    Iberia canceling flights to Russia Industrials Spain
    ICBC curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials China
    Icecat suspends activities for the Russian market Industrials Netherlands
    Illinois Tool Works suspension of sales to Russia Industrials United States
    Indeed suspend service in Russia Information Technology United States
    Inditex close Russian stores and suspend sales Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Infineon suspend exports Information Technology Germany
    Institute of Internal Auditors suspend business in Russia Industrials United States
    Intel suspend sales to Russia Information Technology United States
    Interactive Advertising Bureau suspend licensing in Russia and Belearus Industrials United States
    Intercomm Foods Stopping shipments to Russia Consumer Staples Greece
    International Canoe Federation suspend Russian athletes & relocate Russian events NGO Switzerland
    International Federation of Sport Climbing suspend Russian teams from participation; supend Russian events NGO Italy
    International Paralympic Committee bar Russian atheletes NGO Germany
    International Tennis Federation suspend Russian partnerships NGO United Kingdom
    Intertek suspend operations Industrials United States
    Intuit suspend customer accounts Information Technology United States
    Jablotron halts sales and blocks data services to products assempled in Russia Consumer Discretionary Czech Republic
    JCB suspend operations in Russia Financials Japan
    JCB pause business in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    JD Sports suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Johnson Controls suspend operations in Russia Industrials Ireland
    Julipedra suspended exports to Russia Materials Portugal
    Jungheinrich keep Russia office; stop exports to Russia Industrials Germany
    Juniper Networks suspend sales in Russia Information Technology United States
    JYSK temporarily close Russian stores Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    Kärcher suspend exports to Russia & halt investments Consumer Discretionary Germany
    KBC Group suspend transactions with certain Russian banks Financials Belgium
    Kepenou Mills stop wheat orders from Russia Consumer Staples Greece
    Kering close all stores in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Kerry Group suspending operations Consumer Staples Ireland
    Kesko stop sales to Russia and imports from Russia Consumer Staples Finland
    KGHM suspended Russian contracts, subsidiary ZANAM Vostok in Russia Materials Poland
    Kingston suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology United States
    KLM cancel flights to and from Russia Industrials Netherlands
    Knight Frank suspend substantive operations in Russia Real Estate United Kingdom
    Kodak Alaris suspend all business activity into Russia & Belarus Information Technology United Kingdom
    Komatsu suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Japan
    KONE suspend deliveries to Russia & stop new Russian orders Industrials Finland
    Konecranes stop all orders from Russia Industrials Finland
    Konica Minolta new shipments suspended Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Körber suspend new business with Russia Industrials Germany
    Korean Air Lines no flying over Russian airspace; Russian flights cancelled Industrials South Korea
    Korn Ferry suspend business in Russia Industrials United States
    Krombacher stopped exports to Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    KUKA suspend all business with Russia Industrials Germany
    Kurokesu suspend shippments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Lithuania
    Kyocera suspend deliveries of all devices to Russia Information Technology Japan
    L’Oreal suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    La Lorraine halt its 50mn euro investment in Moscow Consumer Staples Belgium
    Lanxess suspend business activities with Russia Materials Germany
    LCBO suspend Russian-produced products Consumer Staples Canada
    Lego suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    Leica Camera AG suspend operations in Russia Information Technology Germany
    Leonardo pause all JVs in Russia; helicopter production Industrials Italy
    Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo suspend performance rights for his ballet Consumer Discretionary Monaco
    Levi Strauss suspend all sales in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Lexmark suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology United States
    LG Electronics suspend all shipments to Russia Information Technology South Korea
    Lindt-Sprungli suspend operations in Russia Consumer Staples Switzerland
    Little Caesar’s suspend Russian franchise support Consumer Discretionary United States
    Live Nation Entertainment stop business with Russia Communication Services United States
    Lladró suspended service and shipment to Russia. No new requests Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Logitech suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology Switzerland
    Louis Dreyfus suspend operations in Russia Consumer Staples Netherlands
    Lumen cut networks to Russia Communication Services United States
    LUSH suspend online sales & supply to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    LVMH suspend all operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    M&G phased divestment of Russian assets Financials United Kingdom
    Maersk suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Denmark
    Magna suspend Russian plants Consumer Discretionary Canada
    Magna Steyr suspend deliveries to Russia Consumer Discretionary Austria
    MAN suspend delivery, supply of trucks, and sales to Russia Industrials Germany
    Mango suspend direct operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Mannheimer Swartling suspend all operations Industrials Sweden
    Manolo Blahnik suspend sales to Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Marks & Spencer suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Marriott suspend all Russian operations Consumer Discretionary United States
    Marvell suspend all sales to Russia in compliance with sanctions Information Technology United States
    Mastercard suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Mattel suspend shipments into Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Mazda suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    McCain Foods suspend operations in Russia Consumer Staples Canada
    McCormick suspend operations in Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Meggit cease all imports and exports with Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Mercedes-Benz suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Meta suspend Russian advertising Communication Services United States
    Metsa suspend operations at Russian mill Materials Finland
    Metso Outotec suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Finland
    Mettler Toledo suspend all shipments to Russia Health Care United States
    Michelin suspended all operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary France
    Micron Suspend shipments to Russia according to sanctions Information Technology United States
    Milk Hydrosan sp. z o.o. suspended Russian contracts Industrials Poland
    Mitsubishi Electric stop all sales to Russia but reserve the right to return Industrials Japan
    Mitsubishi Motors suspended operations at Russian plant Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Mobatime (Elekon) stopped activity and remotly stopped clock on Russian Academy of Sciences Consumer Discretionary Czech Republic
    Moncler suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    MongoDB suspend sales to Russia and Belarus Information Technology United States
    Mothercare suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Motorola Solutions suspend service orders to Russia Information Technology United States
    MS & AD Insurance Group suspending operations Financials Japan
    MSC temporary suspension of all shipments to Russia Financials United States
    MSC Cruises suspend calls to Russia Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    Munich Re not renew current contracts & suspend new business Financials Germany
    MV Group suspends all imports and orders, froze partner brands Consumer Staples Lithuania
    MVRDV suspend operations in Russia Industrials Netherlands
    Namecheap stop offering products to Russia Information Technology United States
    Naspers In process of separating from Avito and fully exit Russia Consumer Discretionary South Africa
    NCR suspend sales to Russia Information Technology United States
    NEC suspend all future sales Information Technology Japan
    Nemak halt production in Russia Consumer Discretionary Mexico
    Neste Oyj suspend purchases of Russian oil Energy Finland
    NetApp suspend business operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    New Balance suspend shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    New Development Bank curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials China
    NHL pause all partnerships in Russia NGO United States
    Niantic Labs products made unavailable in Russia Information Technology United States
    Nikon suspend shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Nintendo suspend all sales in Russia Communication Services Japan
    Nissan suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Norton suspend sales to Russia Information Technology United States
    Nozbe cut off services for Russia and Belarus Industrials Poland
    NSG Group (Pilkington) suspension all trading and investment Materials Japan
    Nu Skin suspend Russian operations Consumer Staples United States
    Nutanix pause all sales and support to Russia Information Technology United States
    Nvidia suspend all sales in Russia Information Technology United States
    NXP Semiconductors suspend all shipments to and business with Russia Information Technology Netherlands
    Olvi stop exports to Russia Consumer Staples Finland
    Olympus suspend sales of Scientific Solutions portfolio and all capital investments Information Technology Japan
    ON24 suspend all Russian activities Information Technology United States
    OP Bank Lithuania temporarily stop the processing of all payments from and to Russia & Belarus Financials Lithuania
    OpenText suspend all business Information Technology Canada
    Oracle suspend all operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Outokumpu stop sales and deliveries to Russia Materials Finland
    PagerDuty suspend cooperation with Russian customers Information Technology United States
    Panasonic suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Pandora suspend all business with Russia and Belarus Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    Papa John’s suspend support for all Russian franchises Consumer Discretionary United States
    Par Pacific suspend purchases of Russian crude oil Energy United States
    Paramount pause new content releases to Russia Communication Services United States
    Payoneer close Russian accounts Information Technology United States
    Paypal suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Peak Design shut down sales to Russia Consumer Staples United States
    Pekao SA transactions in Russian ruble suspended Financials Poland
    Pernod Ricard pause exports to Russia Consumer Staples France
    Pivovary Staropramen suspended beer exports Consumer Staples Czech Republic
    Playmobil stop all sales to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Plzeňský Prazdroj suspend sales to Russia Consumer Staples Czech Republic
    Podravka stop deliveries to Russia Consumer Staples Croatia
    Polaris suspend exports to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Porsche end shipments of new cars; dealerships running and warranty obligations honored Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Prada suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Preem AB suspend purchases of Russian oil Energy Sweden
    Prosus In process of divesting from local subsidiary Industrials Netherlands
    PTC discontinue all business operations and sales Information Technology United States
    Puma suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    PVH suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Qlik suspend sales and services to Russia Information Technology Sweden
    QS cease activity with Russian customers & cease promotion of Russian universities NGO United Kingdom
    Qualcomm suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology United States
    Rabobank curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials Netherlands
    Radio Free Europe suspend operations in Russia Communication Services Czech Republic
    Rakovnický Pivovar stopped exports and withdrew some products for sale in Russia Consumer Staples Czech Republic
    Ralph Lauren pause operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Raytheon suspend operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Reface.ai suspend all new downloads and updates of app in Russia Information Technology Ukraine
    Reima suspend all sales into Russia Consumer Discretionary Finland
    Reliance intention to avoid Russian fuel Energy India
    Remitly Global stop accepting new users in Russia Information Technology United States
    Revolut stop top-ups for Russian cards and block transfers to Russian institutions Financials United Kingdom
    Richemont suspend all operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    Ricoh suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology Japan
    Roca closure of plants Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Rockwell Automation suspend operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Roland DG suspend all exports and sales to Russia Information Technology Japan
    Rolex suspend exports to Russia Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    Rolls Royce suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Rovio remove games from app stores in Russia Information Technology Finland
    Royal Caribbean Cruises cancel summer cruise ship visits to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Royal Society of Chemistry pause activities with Russian institutions NGO United Kingdom
    Safran stop all activities in Russia Industrials France
    Samsonite International suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Luxembourg
    Samsung suspend all shipments to Russia Information Technology South Korea
    Sandvik suspend all operations in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Sardina suspend deliveries to Russia Consumer Staples Croatia
    Scandinavian Tobacco suspend most operations in Russia Consumer Staples Denmark
    Scania suspend all sales in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Schwarz Group stop sales of Russian products in stores Consumer Staples Germany
    Sennheiser suspend all business & stop exports Information Technology Germany
    Sharp Group suspend shipping into Russia Information Technology Japan
    Shiseido suspend export shipments to Russia Consumer Staples Japan
    Simba Dickie Group suspend all business in Russia including with local independent distributor Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Skoda halted production and stopped exports Consumer Discretionary Czech Republic
    Skytrax suspend all audit and rating analysis NGO United Kingdom
    Smartway Pharmaceuticals suspended all operations, most supplies, and all advertising Health Care United Kingdom
    Sodeca cut off all supplies to Russian partners Industrials Spain
    Solvay suspend operations in Russia Materials Belgium
    SonoSim suspend distributor relationship in Russia Health Care United States
    Sony pause release of new films in Russia, suspending console and game sales in Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Sportradar suspend all new investments in Russia, including signing new customers Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    SriLankan Airlines suspend flights between Sri Lanka and Russia Industrials Sri Lanka
    SSAB shipments and sales to Russia discontinued Materials Sweden
    Stellantis suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Netherlands
    STIHL suspend deliveries to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Storytel pause operations in Russia Communication Services Sweden
    Subaru suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    Sumitomo Group scaling back or suspending all Russian-related business Financials Japan
    Supercell remove games from app stores in Russia Information Technology Finland
    Swarovski suspend all sales in Russia Consumer Discretionary Liechtenstein
    Swatch suspend direct operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    Sweco stop all projects in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Sylvamo suspend operations in Russia Materials United States
    Systemair suspend all sales to Russia Industrials Sweden
    T Machinery Stopped cooperation Industrials Czech Republic
    Tadano suspension of shipments into Russia Industrials Japan
    Take-Two Interactive halt sales, marketing and more in Russia Communication Services United States
    Tanin goods are stopped Materials Slovenia
    Tata Motors paused sales of Jaguar Land Rover in Russia Consumer Discretionary India
    Tendam suspend activity in Russia Consumer Discretionary Spain
    The Navigator Company suspend all marketing in Russia Materials Portugal
    Thermo Fisher suspend sales and manufacturing in Russia Health Care United States
    TikTok suspend operations in Russia Communication Services United States
    Timken suspend operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Torm effectively suspend shipments to Russia Industrials Denmark
    Tous close shops and online store in Russia Consumer Discretionary Spain
    Trane Technologies suspend shipments to Russia Industrials Ireland
    Trelleborg Group suspended deliveries and sales to Russia Industrials Sweden
    Trimble suspend all sales in Russia Information Technology United States
    Triumph suspend Russian business Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    TSMC suspend all shipments to Russia Information Technology Taiwan
    TTC Holding suspended activities Real Estate Czech Republic
    Twin Disc suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials United States
    Twitter suspend certain operations in Russia Communication Services United States
    Ubisoft suspend new sales to Russia Information Technology France
    UiPath suspend sales in Russia Information Technology United States
    UL stop all work in Russia & Belarus and not take on or pursue any new customer orders Industrials United States
    Under Armour suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Uniqlo/Fast Retailing suspend operations in Russia Consumer Discretionary Japan
    United Airlines no flying over Russian airspace Industrials United States
    UPM temporarily suspend operations and sales in Russia Materials Finland
    UPS suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials United States
    Upwork suspend operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Valero Energy suspend purchases of Russian oil Energy United States
    Veeam pause sales in Russia Information Technology United States
    VF Corporation temporarily suspend commercial activities Consumer Discretionary United States
    Victoria’s Secret stop exports to Russia, pause sales in Russia by franchisers, suspend online sales Consumer Discretionary United States
    Viessmann stop business with Russia & stop deliveries to and from Russia Industrials Germany
    Vietnam Airlines suspend flights to Russia Industrials Vietnam
    Viking River Cruises cease all operations in Russia & cancel trips to Russia up to 2024 Consumer Discretionary Switzerland
    Visa suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Vitec Group suspend all exports and services Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    Viva suspend purchases of Russian oil Energy Australia
    VMWare suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    Volkswagen suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Volvo Cars suspend all shipments to Russia Industrials Sweden
    Volvo Group suspend all sales, service and production Industrials Sweden
    WarnerMedia pause new content releases Communication Services United States
    Waters Corporation suspend all sales and services into Russia Health Care United States
    WEKA suspend business and concrete deals with Russia Information Technology Israel
    Western Union suspend operations in Russia Information Technology United States
    WeTransfer suspend all services in Russia Information Technology United States
    Wielton suspended Russian exports Industrials Poland
    William Grant & Sons suspend all shipments to Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Wimbledon ban Russian athletes NGO United Kingdom
    Wise PLC suspend Russian partnerships Information Technology United Kingdom
    Wizz Air Air flights to/from Russia are temporarily suspended Industrials Hungary
    World Boxing Council suspend Russia from title fights NGO Mexico
    World Federation of Exchanges suspend all Russian members and affiliates NGO United Kingdom
    Woseba suspends deliveries to Russia Consumer Staples Poland
    Wrangler (Kontoor) suspend online sales Consumer Discretionary United States
    Würth stop exports to Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    WWE suspend all operations in Russia Communication Services United States
    Xerox suspend shipments to Russia Information Technology United States
    Yara suspend all imports from Russia Materials Norway
    YKK Group suspend operations in Russia Industrials Japan
    YOOX suspend commercial activities Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Żabka halts orders from Russia & Belarus Consumer Staples Poland
    Zegna Group suspended all shipments to and production for Russia partners Consumer Discretionary Italy
    Zendesk suspend all sales to Russia Information Technology United States
    Zetor suspend all cooperation with Russia Industrials Czech Republic
    ZHA suspend operations in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Zynga suspend all installations, monetization and marketing support Communication Services United States

    Withdrawal

    Clean Break – Surgical Removal, Resection (305 Companies) (Grade: A)

    Companies totally halting Russian engagements or completely exiting Russia…

    Name Action Industry Country
    AB InBev sold stake in joint ventures and suspend using its license in Russia Consumer Staples Belgium
    Accenture exiting Russia completely Information Technology Ireland
    Accountor withdrawal from Russia Information Technology Finland
    Acronis suspend operations in Russia Information Technology Switzerland
    Adenza discontinue all operations in Russia Information Technology United Kingdom
    AECOM exit Russia operations Industrials United States
    AerCap cease leasing activity with Russian airlines Industrials Ireland
    AG Barr cut ties with Russian market Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Air Products full divestiture from Russia Materials United States
    AirBaltic leave Russian market until further notice Industrials Latvia
    Akvelon close offices in Moscow Information Technology United States
    Alcoa cease buying raw materials from, or selling our products to, Russian businesses Materials United States
    Aldi remove products from Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    Allegro bans Russian & Belarussian products Consumer Discretionary Poland
    Allen & Overy wind down Russian operations Industrials United Kingdom
    Ametek closing TPM Russia subsidiary due to war in Ukraine Industrials United States
    Amsted Rail exit Russia completely Industrials United States
    AP7 sell off all of Russian shares Financials Sweden
    APG sell all Russian investment Financials Netherlands
    ArcelorMittal removed all Russian materials from supply chain Materials Luxembourg
    Arendt & Medernach pull out of Russia; close Russian office and suspend select Russian client engagements Industrials Luxembourg
    Asda remove products from Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Assicurazioni Generali exit Russia completely Financials Italy
    Atos exit from Russia Information Technology France
    Atria exit business in Russia Consumer Staples Finland
    Avery Dennison exit Russian operations Materials United States
    Avid cease all sales and support to all customers, users and resellers in Russia & Belarus Information Technology United States
    Baker Botts wind down Moscow office Industrials United States
    Baker McKenzie cease operations in Russia and transfer them to an independent entity Industrials United States
    Baker Tilly gradual wind down of operations in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Bakoma withdraw from Russia completely prior to aggression Consumer Staples Poland
    Ball Corporation leave Russia completely Materials United States
    BASF SE wind down Russian operations Materials Germany
    BBDO exit Russian operations Industrials United States
    Bestseller stop all sales to Russia through distributors Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    BlackRock curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United States
    Bonava close operations in Russia Real Estate Sweden
    Bose stop all product shipments Information Technology United States
    Boskalis exit Russian Arctic LNG 2 project Industrials Netherlands
    BP divest from 20% Rosneft stake Energy United Kingdom
    British American Tobacco exit Russian operations Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    British Standards Institution (BSI) terminate all contractual relations & discontinue services in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Bryan Cave exit Russian operations; local partners and counsel form new firms Industrials United States
    Bumble remove apps from app stores Communication Services United States
    Canva withdraw from Russia Information Technology Australia
    Carlsberg exit Russia completely Consumer Staples Denmark
    Carnival discontinue Russia itineraries Consumer Discretionary United States
    Centrica exit gas supply partnership with Gazprom Utilities United Kingdom
    Ceratizit stop all deliveries to Russia and Belarus Industrials Luxembourg
    Cersanit put up its Russian business for sale Consumer Discretionary Poland
    Chapman Freeborn wind down Russian business Industrials United Kingdom
    Ciech suspended Russian exports Materials Poland
    Cisco orderly wind down Russian operations Information Technology United States
    Clarivate exit Russian operations Industrials United Kingdom
    Clifford Chance wind down operations in Moscow; local partners and counsels form own firm Industrials United Kingdom
    CMS transfer Russian practice to local partners and counsel Industrials Germany
    Colliers discontinue business in Russia Real Estate Canada
    Comarch halts orders from Russia & Belarus Information Technology Poland
    Compass Group permanently exit Russian market Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Coop fully divest Russian operations Transgourmet via management buyout Financials Switzerland
    Coty wind down Russian business Consumer Staples United States
    CRH withdrawal from Russia Materials Ireland
    Cummins exit Russian operations Industrials United States
    Currency.com halting operations for residents of Russian Financials United Kingdom
    Cushman & Wakefield close office in Russia; transfer to local partner Real Estate United States
    Cyfrowy Polsat removing Russian TV channels from the offer Communication Services Poland
    Danfoss exit Russia completely Industrials Denmark
    DDB exit Russian operations Materials United States
    Dechert close Russian office Industrials United States
    Deezer discontinue services in Russia Communication Services France
    Deichmann withdraw from Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Deloitte leaving Russia completely; local office launched own firm Industrials United States
    Delta Air Lines withdraw codeshare services with Aeroflot Industrials United States
    Dentons exit Russian operations Industrials Switzerland
    Dentsu International divest joint venture/leave Russia Communication Services United Kingdom
    Deutsche Bank wind down business in Russia Financials Germany
    Deutsche Telekom close Russian business Communication Services Germany
    Dino Polska removed Russian products Consumer Staples Poland
    DLA Piper withdrawing from Russia Industrials United States
    DPD withdrawal from the Russian market Industrials Germany
    Dr. Oetker stops sales and production in Russia; transferred ownership of production facilities Consumer Staples Germany
    DXC Technology leaving Russia completely Information Technology United States
    EarthDaily Analytics terminate operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Edeka remove Russian food from store shelves Consumer Staples Germany
    edX (2U) withdraw from all Russian partnerships Information Technology United States
    Electronic Arts make new game purchases unavailable in Russia Communication Services United States
    Elisa Esports ban Russian teams from participating in tournaments NGO Finland
    ELKO Group leave Russia Information Technology Latvia
    Emerson Electric exit Russian business Industrials United States
    Enel divest from the entire Russian stakes Utilities Italy
    ENEOS discontinue purchases of Russian crude Energy Japan
    EPAM discontinue servicing Russian customers Information Technology United States
    Equinor exit joint ventures in Russia Energy Norway
    ESAB transition out of operations in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Etsy deactivate all listings from Russian sellers Consumer Discretionary United States
    Eurovision ban on all Russian competition NGO United Kingdom
    Eversheds Sutherland close Russia office; transfer Russia practice to local partners and counsels Industrials United Kingdom
    Evonik withdraw from Russia Materials Germany
    Expedia suspend bookings in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Exxon exit Rosneft partnership Energy United States
    EY leaving Russia completely Industrials United States
    FANUC totally suspend all shipments, services and maintenance in Russia Industrials Japan
    Fazer exit Russia Consumer Staples Finland
    Fennovoima terminate Russian nuclear power plant project Energy Finland
    FICO exiting all work in Russia Information Technology United States
    Fiskars withdraw completely from the Russian market Consumer Discretionary Finland
    Flowserve exit Russia completely Industrials United States
    FMC Corporation discontinue all business and operations Materials United States
    Fonterra exit its businesses in Russia Consumer Staples New Zealand
    Formula One terminat contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter Communication Services United Kingdom
    Fortum exit Russian market Utilities Finland
    Freshfields closing business in Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    G2A block marketplace for Russian users Communication Services Netherlands
    Gameloft make company’s games unavailable in Russia Information Technology France
    Gaz-System stopped gas imports Utilities Poland
    Global Foundries suspend all shipments to Russia Information Technology United States
    GoDaddy discontinue all Russian services Information Technology United States
    Gowling leave Russia Industrials Canada
    Grant Thornton closing business in Russia Industrials United States
    Grohe cease all activities with Russia Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Haniel unwind all Russian business Materials Germany
    Hays plc close Russian business Industrials United Kingdom
    Hearst Communications terminate the licensing agreements & turn over its equity to Russian subsidiary Communication Services United States
    Heidrick & Struggles ceased all operations in Russia Industrials United States
    Heineken exit Russia completely Consumer Staples Netherlands
    Hempel exit Russia Industrials Denmark
    Henkel exit business activities in Russia Consumer Staples Germany
    Herbert Smith Freehills end operations in Russia; local partners and counsels open independent firm Industrials Australia
    Hesburger withdraw from Russia Consumer Discretionary Finland
    Hogan Lovells exit Russian operations Industrials United Kingdom
    Holcim exit Russian market completely Materials Switzerland
    Houthoff terminate all relationships with Russia Industrials Netherlands
    HP Enterprise (Independent from HP Inc.) exit Russia & Belarus Information Technology United States
    HP Inc. shut down business in Russia Information Technology United States
    Huhtamaki divest Russian operations Materials Finland
    IBM wind down business in Russia Information Technology United States
    IDEXX Labs wind down operations & liquidate subsidiary Health Care United States
    Ikea fold up Russian presence Consumer Discretionary Sweden
    IMCD withdraw from Russia completely Industrials Netherlands
    Imperial Brands transfer Russian business to local partners Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Incoff Aerospace no longer trade with the Russians Industrials Slovakia
    Infosys shutting down operations in Russia Information Technology India
    InPost stop purchasing services/goods from Russian & Belorussian companies Industrials Poland
    Intercontinental Exchange curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United States
    International Boxing Federation ban on all Russian competition NGO France
    International Cat Federation ban Russian cats from competitions NGO Canada
    International Cycling Union ban on all Russian competition NGO United States
    International Ice Hockey Federation ban on all Russian competition NGO Switzerland
    International Olympic Committee ban Russian athletes from competing NGO Switzerland
    International Skating Union ban on all Russian competition NGO Switzerland
    International Weightlifting Federation ban on all Russian competition NGO Switzerland
    Interpublic Group exit Russian operations Communication Services United States
    ISS ISS divested its Russian activities during March and is no longer active in Russia Industrials Denmark
    J Sainsbury remove products from Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Jabil closed its site in Russia Information Technology United States
    Jamie Oliver exit franchise agreement Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Jan de Nul close rep office and withdraw ships Industrials Luxembourg
    JetBrains suspend all activity indefinitely Information Technology Czech Republic
    JLL separate operations in Russia Real Estate United States
    John Wood Group withdraw from Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Kalnapilis-Taurus termination of export ties and production in Russian Market Consumer Staples Lithuania
    Kelly leave Russia & transition operations Industrials United States
    Kemira exit Russia completely Consumer Discretionary Finland
    Kiilto seeking exit from Russian business Materials Finland
    Kingspan exit Russia Industrials Ireland
    Kinross Gold complete exit from Russia by selling Russian operations Materials Canada
    KLP exit all investment holdings in Russia Financials Norway
    Knorr-Bremse will not deliver any more products or systems for Russian locomotives; end JVs Industrials Germany
    Kofax curtail all sales of software and close sites in Russia Information Technology United States
    KPMG leaving Russia completely Industrials United States
    Krispy Kreme winding down business in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    L’Occitane exit Russian operations Consumer Discretionary France
    Lamb Weston exit Russian market Consumer Staples United States
    Latham & Watkins wind down Russian presence Industrials United States
    Lincoln Electric ceased all operations Industrials United States
    Linklaters end operations in Russia, with entities connected to the Russian state; local partners and counsel form own firm Industrials United Kingdom
    Lloyd’s Register withdraw services to Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    London Stock Exchange Group curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United Kingdom
    LPP Group left Russia Consumer Discretionary Poland
    Lufthansa suspended flights and ended Russian aircraft maintenance Industrials Germany
    Luxoft exit Russian market Information Technology Switzerland
    Marsh McLennan exit operations in Russia Financials United States
    McDonald’s leave the Russian market & sell Russian business Consumer Discretionary United States
    McKinsey exit Russian market completely Industrials United States
    MessageBird shut down API access, block SMS and voice traffic to Russian carriers Information Technology Netherlands
    Mondi sell Russian assets Materials United Kingdom
    Monroe Energy stop imports of Russian crude oil Energy United States
    Moog Inc. exit Russian operations Industrials United States
    Morgan Advanced Materials cease all trading with Russia. Industrials United Kingdom
    Morgan Lewis close Russian offices Industrials United States
    Morrisons remove products from Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    MSCI curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United States
    Nasdaq curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United States
    NCAB Group AB sold assets and ceased operations in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Netflix suspend service in Russia Communication Services United States
    Netscout pause all sales, support, and services in Russia Information Technology United States
    Nike exit Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    Nokia pulling out of Russia completely Information Technology Finland
    Norton Rose Fulbright exit from Russia Industrials United Kingdom
    Norwegian Cruise Lines discontinue Russian itineraries Consumer Discretionary United States
    NTT Data exit Russia Information Technology Japan
    OBI exit Russian market completely Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Oceania Cruises discontinue Russian itineraries Consumer Discretionary United States
    Oerlikon sell Russian operations Materials Switzerland
    Omnicom Media Group exit Russian operations Communication Services United States
    OneWeb suspend use of Russian airspace Communication Services United States
    Orkla exit Russian operations Consumer Staples Norway
    Orlen Lietuva stopped Russian oil imports Energy Poland
    Owens Corning expedite exit from Russia Industrials United States
    Parker Hannifin closed our office and warehouse facility in Moscow and no longer do business in this country Industrials United States
    Paulig withdraw from Russia Consumer Staples Finland
    Pensioenfonds Detailhandel sell off all Russian investments Financials Netherlands
    Pentair exiting its business in Russia Industrials United States
    PFZW divest from all Russian assets Financials Netherlands
    PGL Esports exclusion of esports teams and individuals with connections to the Russian government from upcoming competition Communication Services United States
    PKO BP suspends transactions with Russian banks transactions in Russian ruble suspended Financials Poland
    PME pensioenfonds sell off all Russian investments Financials Netherlands
    Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA stopped gaz imports Energy Poland
    Ponsse PLC divest Russian operations Industrials Finland
    Prio ceased purchase of any products from Russian or directly related companies Energy Portugal
    Publicis Groupe cede ownership to local affiliates Communication Services France
    PwC leaving Russia completely Industrials United States
    PZU SA reduced position in Russian bonds to zero Financials Poland
    Qantas Airlines no longer flies over Russian territory Industrials Australia
    R&A ban on all Russian competition Industrials United States
    Reckitt Benckiser Group begins a process aimed at transferring ownership of its Russia business Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Red Hat discontinue sales and services in Russia & terminate partnerships Information Technology United States
    Regent Seven Seas Cruises discontinue Russian itineraries Consumer Discretionary United States
    Renault sell Renault Russia; transfer Moscow factory to city government and partner for local brand production Consumer Discretionary France
    Rewe remove products from Russia from shelves Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Rimi remove products from Russia from shelves Consumer Discretionary Latvia
    Rio Tinto terminate all commercial relationships with Russia Materials Australia
    Rocket Lawyer suspend Russian and Belarusian access to the platform Information Technology United States
    Roku remove Kremlin-linked propaganda and ads Communication Services United States
    Roland Berger end any activity for Russia Industrials Germany
    S Group (Suomen Osuuskauppojen Keskuskunta) close all operations Consumer Staples Finland
    S&P 500 [S&P Dow Jones Indices] curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United States
    Salesforce exit business relationships in Russia Industrials United States
    Savills end partnerships in Russia Real Estate United Kingdom
    Schneider Electric sell Russian assets to local management and exit completely Industrials France
    Shell total withdrawal from virtually all Russia-related businesses Energy United Kingdom
    Sidley Austin end all Russian relationships Industrials United States
    Siemens exit Russian market Industrials Germany
    SKF end sales and production in Russia Industrials Sweden
    Slack exit Russian market completely Information Technology United States
    SMAY end cooperation with Russia Industrials Poland
    Smurfit Kappa exit Russian market Materials Ireland
    Societe Generale cessation of all activities in Russia Financials France
    Sodexo ceded control of its operations in Russia Industrials France
    Sonos ceased all sales to this market at the onset of the war and blocked Russian state radio Consumer Discretionary United States
    Squire Patton Boggs leave Russia Industrials United States
    Stanley Black & Decker shut down Russian business Industrials United States
    Starbucks exit and no longer have a brand presence in Russia Consumer Discretionary United States
    State Street curtail Russian access to capital markets Financials United States
    Stora Enso divest packaging plants Materials Finland
    Storebrand divest all Russian holdings Financials Norway
    Strabag winding down operations in Russia; terminating shareholder syndicate agreements with Deripaska Industrials Austria
    Sulzer exit Russian market Industrials Switzerland
    Svenska Handelsbanken divest from all Russian investments Financials Sweden
    Systembolaget remove all Russian alcohol from stores Consumer Discretionary Sweden
    Tata Steel replaced all Russian raw materials for operations; no presence in Russia Materials India
    TeamViewer withdraw from Russia/Belarus Information Technology Germany
    Teknotherm Marine HVAC sp. z o.o. complete withdrawal from Russia Industrials Poland
    Teradata stopped all business in Russia and ceased customer interactions and services with all Russian accounts. Information Technology United States
    Tietoevry conclude total exit from Russia Information Technology Finland
    TJ Maxx divest Familia subsidiary Consumer Discretionary United States
    TripAdvisor remove Kremlin-linked propaganda and ads Communication Services United States
    TUI end brand-sharing agreement; had already exited Consumer Discretionary Germany
    Tunnock’s discontinue supplies to Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Uber divest from partnership with Yandex Information Technology United States
    UEFA ban Russian athletes from competing NGO Switzerland
    Umbro withdrawal from the Russian market Consumer Discretionary United Kingdom
    United Internet Group suspend all Russian contracts Information Technology Germany
    Universal closing operations in Russia Communication Services United States
    Valio sell business and Viola brand to Velcom Consumer Staples Finland
    Valmet exit from Russia Industrials Finland
    Vanguard suspend operations in Russia Financials United States
    Velux permanently close operations in Russia and Belarus Consumer Discretionary Denmark
    Vianor terminate contract with Russian subsidiary Consumer Discretionary Finland
    Vičiūnai selling Russian operations and exiting Russia Consumer Staples Lithuania
    Vinmonopolet stop sales of all Russian wine, spirits and strong beers in Norway Consumer Staples Norway
    Vitol stop buying Russian oil by the end of 2022 Energy Switzerland
    Vodafone suspend partner agreement with MTS Information Technology United Kingdom
    Volaris Group discontinue sales and support to Russia Information Technology Canada
    Volfas Engelman suspend investment and withdraw from Russian market Consumer Staples Lithuania
    Waitrose remove products from Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Walker’s Shortbread cancel all future orders to Russia Consumer Staples United Kingdom
    Wargaming close operations; transfer of some business Consumer Discretionary Belarus
    Wear Medicine terminate cooperation with Russian partners Consumer Discretionary Poland
    Weir Group wind down Russian business in 2022 Industrials United Kingdom
    WePlay terminate all Russian operations Consumer Discretionary United States
    WeWork planning divestment of Russian operations Real Estate United States
    Wex Inc. ending relationship with Lukoil and subsidiaries Information Technology United States
    White & Case wind down Russian operations Industrials United States
    Willis Towers Watson fully exit Russia and transfer ownership to local management Financials United Kingdom
    Winston & Strawn close Russian office Industrials United States
    Women’s Tennis Association suspend Russian partnerships NGO United States
    World Athletics Council ban on all Russian competition NGO United States
    World Boxing Association ban on all Russian competition NGO Panama
    World Boxing Organization ban on all Russian competition NGO United States
    World Rowing Federation ban on all Russian competition NGO United States
    World Rugby Union ban on all Russian competition NGO Ireland
    WPP PLC leave Russia Communication Services United Kingdom
    YIT exits Russia projects Industrials Finland
    Zurich Insurance Group sell Russian business to local team and exit market Financials Switzerland

     

    Find this story at 3o June 2022

    Those who stay: how companies justify their stay in russia
    30 juni 2022

    After the start of the full-scale attack of Russia on Ukraine, with tens of thousands killed and multiple war crimes documented, many companies (often under the pressure of their customers and shareholders) have left Russia. Others stayed, continuing to provide goods and services — to Russians and taxes — to the Russian government.

    Figure 1 shows that the healthcare industry has the highest share of companies that continue business as usual or have slightly modified it (usually this implies halting advertising, new investment and new clinical trials), followed by energy, consumer staples and utilities. While the EU has introduced a partial energy embargo (which will probably force some energy companies to leave), the situation with healthcare companies and those producing consumer staples is more complicated. Theoretically these companies can justify their stay in russia by humanism, i.e. providing necessary food or medicine to russian consumers. But how many of them actually do this and are their arguments valid?

    To answer this question, we looked at companies operating in healthcare and consumer staples that belong to groups D and F (i.e. the companies that remain in russia) by Yale classification (figure 1) and added to them companies identified by Balyuk and Fedyk (2022) that belong to the same industries and decided to stay in Russia. In total, 111 companies were identified (this list is probably not exhaustive but we believe it contains the majority of companies).

    The distribution of these companies by industry and country is presented in the following table.

    Table 1. Country distribution of companies from consumer staples and healthcare industries that stay in Russia 

    country Consumer Staples Health Care
    Austria 3
    China 1 2
    France 6 3
    Germany 8 3
    Greece 2 1
    Hungary 1 2
    Iceland 1
    India 2
    Israel 1
    Italy 3 1
    Japan 2
    Latvia 1
    Mexico 1
    Netherlands 1 1
    Poland 1 1
    Portugal 1
    Singapore 1
    Slovenia 1
    Spain 3
    Switzerland 3 3
    Thailand 1
    United Kingdom 1 3
    United States 13 33
    Total 55 56

    Of these companies, 43 did not make any statement on the Russia-Ukraine war. 22 wrote only about their actions (most often complying with sanctions, stopping advertising and making new investment in Russia, and providing humanitarian support for Ukraine). 42 companies (35%) provided a justification for their stay in Russia based on humanitarian reasons. 

    Their excuses were:

    1. providing basic food or hygiene products to Russian consumers
    2. providing essential medicine and/or conducting clinical trials that are important for the humanity
    3. providing jobs (arguing that Russian people are not responsible for actions of their government)

    Some companies provided a combination of these explanations, e.g. Auchan:

    Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that the inhabitants of our countries of operation have access to good quality food at an affordable price and thus meet the essential food needs of the civilian population. Our 30,000 Russian employees are doing the same job to be as close as possible to a population that has no personal responsibility in the outbreak of this war. Abandoning our employees, their families and our customers is not the choice we have made. As French President Emmanuel Macron has said, “we are not at war with the Russian people”.  Closing our activities in Russia would be considered as a premeditated bankruptcy leading to an expropriation that would strengthen the Russian economic and financial ecosystem, would put our employees and their families in great precarity and would deprive, in a period of high inflation, the population of the services of a discounter distributor, which has been operating in the country for 20 years. Source: Auchan statement

    In this statement we see one additional explanation – that “closing our activities in Russia would be considered as a premeditated bankruptcy leading to an expropriation that would strengthen the Russian economic and financial ecosystem”.

    Let’s consider these explanations in more detail. Specifically, I will argue that none of them is substantiated by data or logic. This suggests that the decision for the majority of companies to continue operating in russia must be driven by their own financial considerations, rather than anything else.

    First, 70-80% of Russians support Putin and believe that Russia is going in the right direction. Thus, most Russians are not suffering under Putin’s regime, they are highly supportive of it. Moreover, they are supporting the war. They are supporting killing of Ukrainians and raping of Ukrainian women and children (the Security Service of Ukraine published a large collection of recordings of Russian occupants talking between themselves or with their relatives. These recordings very well illustrate that they don’t consider Ukrainians as humans). Thus, no targeted sanctions against Putin himself or his minions will change the course of war. Heavy sectoral sanctions affecting all the Russian citizens should be applied. Ukraine is bearing an enormous cost of the war – tens of thousands of lives, between a third and a half of its economy, thousands of houses, roads and other infrastructural objects have been and are being destroyed. Moreover, at least 3000 Ukrainians died (according to WHO) because they were unable to receive medicines for their chronic diseases or immune diseases such as cancer because the supply chains are broken. On top of that, Russia constantly bombs hospitals and maternity homes.

    Other countries are bearing a huge cost as well – supporting Ukrainian refugees, providing weapons, humanitarian and financial aid. David Nabarro from WHO said at the Davos forum that 94 countries are at risk of severe hunger or famine because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Thus, it is unfair not only to Ukrainians but to millions of people in the world to try to shield Russian citizens from the consequences of war which they support.

    As another example, Cargill justifies their continued operations in Russia by stating that “Food is a basic human right and should never be used as a weapon“. But this is exactly what Russia does – it destroys Ukrainian grain storages and agricultural machines, it steals Ukrainian grain and blocks Ukrainian ports depriving not only Ukrainian farmers of their revenues but also many people in African and Asian countries of food. If Cargill believes that food should not be used as a weapon then why is it supporting Russia?

    Second, Russia is a large producer and exporter of food. It also has a large domestic retail sector (e.g. Magnit, Lenta, Perekrestok etc). So it is doubtful that without those companies or without foreign supermarkets the Russian population would be deprived of the basic food. Likewise, Russia has several dozens of producers of hygiene products which can substitute for foreign producers who leave. In fact, Russians themselves do not want to see foreign companies in their country – they started the campaign “Zamestim” (meaning “we will replace”, where the first cyrylic letter was deliberately replaced with a half-swastika russia uses as their war symbol). This campaign implies that they plan to replace imported goods with locally produced ones. If foreign companies are so willing to support Russian people, why don’t they support this campaign?

    Third, “premediated bankruptcies” of foreign producers or retailers will not strengthen Russian economy because an enterprise is not only premises and goods. An enterprise is primarily technology, management and expertise. Without foreign managers and engineers those plants and supermarkets will not be worth anything. This is acknowledged even by the strongest supporters of Putin’s regime.

    Fourth, very often those companies that cite “caring for their Russian employees” as the reason to remain in Russia have at the same time closed their Ukrainian production sites because of the war. E.g. Mondelez states that “We continue to prioritize the safety of our people and our operations remain closed in Ukraine…As a food company, we are scaling back all non-essential activities in Russia while helping maintain continuity of the food supply during the challenging times ahead. We will also continue to support our colleagues in the market who are facing great uncertainty.” Is it fair to deprive Ukrainians of their jobs (and Ukraine of its taxes) while at the same time supporting the jobs and paying taxes in the aggressor state? The same taxes that are then used to purchase weapons to bomb their Ukrainian employees?

    Fifth, companies providing pharmaceuticals or medical goods refer to ethics stating that they would continue supplying patients in Russia with essential drugs. However, as explained above, thousands of people in Ukraine are left without medical help. Russian occupants deliberately block humanitarian convoys, destroy medical facilities; in some cases they did not allow pregnant women to go to maternity hospitals. Is this an ethical behaviour? We believe that it is not. We believe that all the pharmaceutical and healthcare companies that consider themselves “ethical” or “socially responsible” should immediately withdraw from Russia. If Russian patients need some medicines, they should ask their government to provide them with those medicines. Or they should turn to the Red Cross to which multinational companies donated huge amounts of money and which tried to help Russia to deport Ukrainians.

    Sixth, some companies stated that they would donate their profits from Russian operations to Ukraine, and some already reported donations either to Ukraine or to international charities such as Red Cross, UNICEF, or Save the Children. While this charitable activity can be welcomed, a much more efficient way to help Ukraine would be to donate to local organizations that have much leaner bureaucracy and better understand the needs on the ground. Moreover, while making these donations they are also paying wages to the Russian employees and taxes to the Russian government which are then–directly or indirectly–used to buy weapons and kill more Ukrainians.

    Thus any excuses that one may find for remaining in Russia can be easily dismissed. What these companies (and the others, which remain silent) are really doing is protecting their market shares and their profits. Protecting a few thousand lives and jobs in a country that killed tens of thousands since February 24th (and killed hundreds of thousands before that – in Ukraine, Syria, Chechnya, Georgia and other states) and caused millions to lose their jobs, houses, their entire lives is a hypocrisy and an extreme degree of cynicism.

    Annex. Analysis of statements of companies that stayed in Russia

    We analyzed 60 statements of companies who stay in Russia to see what companies put into them. Figure A1 shows what was mentioned in these statements. It shows that in more than a half of analyzed statements companies mentioned caring for Russian consumers in different forms (e.g. provision of essential goods, ethical issues, “putting patients first” etc). Some companies mentioned their consumers in general, without dividing them into Russian and Ukrainian. One company talked about consumers in CIS countries to whom products of plants based in Russia are delivered.

    More than a half of the companies described helping their Ukrainian employees – providing financial support, helping to relocate etc. Almost two times less companies justified their stay in Russia by their responsibility to support Russian employees; some companies specified that these employees “face challenges”, “have no impact on the situation” and even “face threats of imprisonment, unsafe conditions, and countersanctions.” There were a few “exotic” statements, such as “donating seeds to Russian farmers to avoid global food crisis” or “caring for cocoa producing families”.

    A lot of companies reported donations – to Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees and/or large international charities or humanitarian organizations.

    Figure A2 shows that companies mostly call the war the war. Some of them went even further and used such words as ‘invasion’ or ‘brutal aggression’. 14 statements directly or indirectly called Russia an aggressor, although in direct statements the formulation was “Russian army” or “Russian government” rather than Russia. To the contrast, 13 companies (almost a quarter) used some euphemisms to describe the war, such as “conflict”, “situation in Ukraine” or “events in Ukraine”.

    Ilona Sologoub
    French arms firm busts sanctions to help Russia build weapons
    30 juni 2022

    It was the BMD-4 with the Thales-made Catherine FC thermal imaging camera that took part in the shelling of Ukrainian civilian cars in Bucha.

    I saw a post by volunteers on a social network, and together with my fellow lawyers we launched our own probe into the French manufacturer’s involvement in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.

    Oleksandr Dubilet,

    Chairman of the Board of CB “PrivatBank” (1997-2016), Financial and banking expert

    So-called exemplary company

    In France, Thales is not just a public company. There are three arguments to support this assertion.

    1) The company specializes in the manufacture of systems for military, aerospace and maritime purposes

    2) The company’s shares are listed on the Paris Stock Exchange

    3) It is not so much the private shareholder (the Dassault family with its 24.62% share) that is important, but the French government and its 25.67% share. Simply put, a company that is more than a quarter controlled by the French government, exports components that kill Ukrainians.

    According to open sources, Thales supplied Catherine FC thermal imaging cameras to Russia, which were used to manufacture the Essa, Plissa and Sosna-U thermal sighting systems. They enhance the combat capabilities of modified Russian T-80, T-90, T-72 tanks and other military vehicles.

    Conscious violators

    After photo and video evidence of “fruitful” cooperation between Thales and Russia appeared on the Internet thanks to volunteers, my fellow lawyers and I have found real evidence that Thales supplied these combat components after the imposition of sanctions related to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea.

    Since this model of equipment was created in 2016, foreign manufacturers had to supply components at least a year earlier. Consequently, Thales sold military goods and technologies to Russia after the introduction of the first wave of sanctions (Council Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014 of July 31, 2014).

    Are these sanctions significant? Undoubtedly. In 2015, Thales failed to sign a $1.3 billion deal to supply two helicopter carriers to Russia. Instead, both ships were sold to Egypt.

    I will also talk about a lesser-known episode of illegal but profitable cooperation between Thales and the aggressor state. The French company Sofradir, a subsidiary company of Thales, specializes in the manufacture of infrared detectors for military, space and commercial use.

    According to NGO Disclose, in 2016, the company supplied 83 infrared detectors (S24) and 258 infrared detectors (S02) to Russia’s CJSC TPK Linkos.

    What is Linkos? According to the Arms of Russia information agency, Linkos specializes in the development and production of computers and communications equipment, optical, optical and electronic and microwave systems and complexes, night vision equipment and quantum electronics products.

    In addition, Sofradir supplied 138 infrared detectors (S10) to JSC NPO GIPO, the Russian state institute of applied optics, which develops and manufactures optical and electronic systems. Since 2008, GIPO has been a part of the Rostekhnologii state corporation.

    Mutually beneficial cooperation between this subsidiary of Thales and Russian military institutions is evidenced by two decisions (documents 1 and 2) of the 2016 Inter-ministerial Commission for the Study of Military Exports (CIEMMG) of France. According to the documents found by our team, French officials allowed Sofradir to supply military technology and goods despite the sanctions.

    In 2019, Sofradir and Ulis merged and created a new company – Lynred. The well-known Thales is a 50% shareholder in Lynred.

    The conclusion is simple: Sofradir actually misled the Inter-ministerial Commission by concluding an additional agreement “to fulfill the contract.” The additional agreement extended the contract and aimed at circumventing sanctions for further supplies of military technology to Russia.

    I  and my colleagues found information that proves that Thales violated the sanctions in both the first (thermal imaging cameras) and the second (infrared detectors, through the subsidiary Sofradir) episodes, in the public domain (!). In my opinion, this illustrates the perception of sanctions very well. That is, the above French companies did not even bother to conceal evidence of their sanctions violations.

    Demanding action

    An EU Council decision bans the supply of dual-use goods and technology to Russia. However, you may be interested to know that this document has a loophole that reads as follows: the authorized state body may issue a license to supply such goods under contracts concluded before August 1, 2014.

    And the French company Thales took full advantage of it, deliberately extending the old contracts through additional agreements and actually supplying military goods in 2015-2018.

    My team of lawyers is working on each of two episodes of criminal cooperation between Thales and its subsidiary Sofradir with Russia. We have sent statements to the EU Council as the body that imposed the sanctions, as well as informing the law enforcement agencies, in particular, the French prosecutor’s office. Our goal is to open criminal cases based on these statements.

    Having revealed the corporate structure of Thales and identified the shareholders (in particular, the French government), we plan to address the shareholders of this company, French banks, secondary monitoring bodies and stock exchanges and demand that they take appropriate action against sanctions violators.

    As in the case of our legal “hunt” for the Belgian company New Lachaussee, which supplied ammunition equipment for the Kalashnikov concern, the purpose of international lawsuits against Thales is to punish violators of sanctions and show the toxicity of any cooperation with the aggressor state.

    At a time when Ukrainians are dying for European values, Europe must be completely on our side.

    ·5 min read
    Find this story at 21 June 2022
    War in Ukraine: the Thales group has delivered kits to Russia until 2019 to assemble infrared cameras
    30 juni 2022
    Thales acknowledges in a press release on Saturday April 30 having delivered until 2019 to the Russian company Vomz “kits for assembling thermal cameras”namely infrared cameras, confirming information from the Parisian. The French defense group, however, ensures that it does not have “nothing sold since 2014” and “the application of European sanctions against Russia”.

    “No new contract has been concluded with a Russian customer since the embargo”, adds Thales. Deliveries of new equipment made after 2014 concerned “contracts signed before July 2014”. “During the past few weeks, messages have been published on social networks showing our optronic equipment on board Russian military platforms”deplores Thales, who claims to share “the emotion aroused by these images”. But the group defends itself categorically.

    “No deliveries have been made to Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.”

    Thales Group

    The company also claims to have “taken the decision to cease its activities in Russia”. Thales claims to be “always strictly complied with French and international regulations, including concerning the application of the 2014 European sanctions against Russia”. “No defense equipment export contract has been signed with Russia since 2014”, says the company. The group “denies being in a joint venture with the Russian company Vomz”, to whom he sold these kits until 2014.

    Admin
    Find this story at 30 April 2022
    France’s Thales Accused Of Selling To Russia Despite Sanctions, Denied By Company
    30 juni 2022

    A senior Ukrainian official on Friday accused French defence electronics company Thales of violating European sanctions and selling Russia equipment that was used to kill civilians fleeing recent fighting outside Kyiv, claims strongly denied by Thales.

    “A family was trying to escape but was killed by Russian murderers,” tweeted presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak. “Killed, as it is now proved, with French weapons sold in circumvention of sanctions in 2015.”

    Reached by AFP, Thales, whose largest shareholder is the French state, denied violating the sanctions that were imposed after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.

    “Thales has always strictly complied with French and international regulations, including concerning the 2014 European sanctions against Russia,” the group said.

    “No defence equipment export contract has been signed with Russia since 2014 and no delivery has been made to Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine”, said the company, adding that it has decided to cease operations in Russia.

    In his Twitter post, Podolyak referenced a video made by Ukrainian blogger Pavlo Kashchuk, who examined a car found in the town of Bucha outside of Kyiv, where Ukraine accuses Russian forces of massacring hundreds of civilians.

    Kashchuk said the car, in which a woman’s body was found, was riddled with holes from shells fired from armoured vehicles from a large distance.

    “How could poorly trained Russian soldiers shoot so accurately with old post-Soviet equipment?” Kashchuk asked.

    He said he found the answer to this question in the nearby town of Vorzel, where Ukrainian forces captured four of Russia’s BMD-4 armoured vehicles.

    Kashchuk said those vehicles were equipped with sophisticated fire control systems, technology that had been sold to Russia by Thales.

    In his video the blogger also showed a thermal camera which he says was recovered from an abandoned Russian tank. The Thales logo is visible on it, accompanied by the date 06/16 and the words “made in Russia.”

    Kashchuk said it was assembled in Russia using Thales components.

    “It’s just one of the many schemes allowing Western companies to circumvent the embargo and continue supplying the Russian army of evil with the most state-of-the-art military technologies,” he said.

    The accusations follow a March report by the investigative outlet Disclose, which found that France had delivered military equipment, including thermal cameras, to Russia between 2015 and 2020.

    The French Defence Ministry said it was fulfilling contracts concluded before the sanctions were adopted in July 2014, under the so-called grandfathering clause.

    By AFP – Agence France Presse

    Find this story at 22 April 2022

    The French company Thales supplied Russia with its Catherine FC thermal imagers for the BMD-4M
    30 juni 2022

    Pavlo Kashchuk, known as the founder of the infocar.ua project and host of the YouTube channel of the same name, published a video on it, shot after Bucha’s liberation from the ruscism occupiers. It shows not only traces of war crimes with the killing of civilians, but also abandoned equipment by retreating troops, which found French-made thermal imagers supplied by Thales Group after the imposition of sanctions against Russia.

    The video begins with a demonstration of the cemetery of civilian cars taken to one place in Bucha. Paul draws attention to the holes from the 30-mm gun in the trunk lid of the Renault Sandero (in Europe, the car is sold as a Dacia Sandero) and their accuracy, despite the fact that the shots were fired from a great distance.

    This 30-mm gun is installed on the BMD-4M (landing combat vehicle), entered service with the Russian army in 2016 (ie after the imposition of sanctions banning the supply of dual-use equipment to Russia). One of these BMD-4Ms was dropped by retreating racist troops in Bucha:

    The modernization of the BMD-4M consists in the installation of equipment for the gunner, taking into account the stabilized sight in two planes, which has thermal imaging and rangefinder channels. This equipment allows the machine to fire at any time of day in any weather.

    The equipment removed from the BMD-4M indicates a violation by Thales Group of the ban on the supply of dual-use equipment (ie, that can be used for military purposes).

    The Thales logo is indicated on the equipment dismantled by the combat vehicle

    In particular, a thermal imager is used, which allows the arrow to see the target in the dark, Catherine FC, made by this company. “It is allegedly going to the Russian plant in Vologda. That is, according to French drawings from components bought from the French,” – Kashchuk said in the video. — “And this is just one of the schemes that allow Western companies to circumvent the embargo and continue to supply the Russian army of evil with the latest military technology.”

    According to the specifications, the Catherine FC thermal imager (note the date of manufacture – June 2016) allows you to create images with a resolution of 768×576 pixels and operates at a distance of up to 2.5 kilometers. The module itself weighs less than 3 kilograms with dimensions of 258x172x100 mm and is certified in accordance with the military standard MIL STD 810.

    About Thales Group

    Thales Group (pronounced “Thales”) has a history dating back to 1892 and until 2010 was called Thomson-CSF and named after the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus. Its headquarters are located in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. It employs about 68,000 people in more than 50 countries. In 2011, the company’s turnover was €13 billion. Fortune magazine ranked it among the world’s 500 largest companies, ranking 475th. Thales Group is ranked 11th in the world among companies engaged in the supply of military equipment. Since December 2014, Thales Group has been headed by Patrice Caine, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of Naval Group (since 2015) and L’Oréal (since 2018) and has received awards – bronze medal of national defense and the Order of Merit, and is also a cavalier of the Legion of Honor.

    The fact that 27.1% of the company’s shares belong to the French government casts a shadow over the entire country, which appears to be a sponsor of terrorism that supports Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.

    2,509

    Find this story at 21 April 2022

    EU’S SHAME France and Germany dodged Russia arms embargo to sell weapons to Putin – that are now being used to slaughter Ukrainians
    30 juni 2022

    FRANCE, Germany and Italy side-stepped an arms embargo to sell weapons to Vladimir Putin that are being used to slaughter Ukrainians.

    On a day of shame for the EU, it emerged ten member states sold hundreds of millions of pounds of military kit to Russia between 2015 and 2020.

    Paris sent bombs, rockets and explosives, as well as thermal-imaging cameras for 1,000 tanks and infra-red detectors for jets.

    Berlin sold what it called “dual-use equipment” including rifles, “special protection” vehicles and icebreaker vessels and Rome provided armoured cars.

    EU states, including then-member Britain, hit Russia with a weapons embargo in 2014 over the annexation of Crimea.

    But a loophole allowed countries and firms to fulfil contracts they had previously signed with Russia.

    And a probe by Investigate Europe shows EU27 states issued more than 1,000 licences after the ban.

    France went on to flog £130million of military kit to the Kremlin, Germany sold £100million and Italy made £19million.

    In 2015, Rome authorised the sale of Lynce military all-terrain vehicles to Moscow – which have been seen in Ukraine since the war began by Italian TV channel La7.

    Despite the EU imposing an embargo on weapon sales, investigative website Disclose reports that between 2015 and 2020, France issued 76 export licences to Russia for military equipment.

    And according to a report by Investigate Europe, ten EU member states continued to send weapons to Russia after the embargo – with Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain on the list.

    Figures from the EU Council Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports reveal the ten EU states exported military equipment worth a total of £291million to Russia between 2015 and 2020.

    Out of the ten, France reportedly accounted for 44 per cent of sales, with aircraft, navigation systems, torpedoes and missiles among the equipment sent.

    In 2015, French president François Hollande was pressured into ditching plans to flog two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia – but successive French governments went on to take advantage of the loophole.

    Britain also sold weapons to Russia after the embargo was imposed, but only £1.7million worth.

    And after dodging the Russian arms embargo, Germany was slammed by Kyiv’s mayor after offering to send 5,000 helmets to support Ukrainian forces against Putin’s troops.

    Former boxer-turned politician Vitali Klitschko poked fun at the offer, asking if the nation would like to send pillows instead as Berlin refused to send weapons to Ukraine.

    But just days into the invasion, Germany bowed to pressure and reversed its historic policy to not send weapons to conflict zones – offering to hand over 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft defence systems to Ukraine

    Meanwhile, as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine stalls with the US estimating some 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or captured since the conflict began, defiant Ukrainians have been seizing Russian equipment to use against them as the war rages on into its fourth week.

    Volodymyr Zelensky has begged European leaders to send more weapons to help Ukrainians tirelessly defend their country as Russian forces continue to blast major cities.

    The heroic leader urged leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force on Tuesday to “help yourself by helping us” by sending more equipment.

    “We all are the targets of Russia and everything will go against Europe if Ukraine won’t stand, so I would like to ask you to help yourself by helping us. ,” Zelensky said.

    “You know the weapons we need. You know what kind of defence measures we need. You know that our need is fighter jets and without your support it would be very difficult

    “‘We want you to help us and I would hope that you will be able to enhance that support and you will see how this will protect your security, your safety and how that will make a stable peace not only for us but for your countries.”

    Zelensky said shipments of supplies from nations in Europe were being used up quickly as Ukrainian forces push captured Russian weapons and machinery into service.

    It comes as the Ukrainian President again asked Washington and its NATO allies to impose a no-fly zone to ensure “Russia wouldn’t be able to terrorise our free cities”.

    He addressed Joe Biden directly, saying: “I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”

    Biden and Nato have resisted Zelensky’s pleas for direct involvement against Russia – warning it could lead to World War Three.

    But the US President this week unveiled his latest package of aid to Ukraine to add to the £10.3billion in military and humanitarian aid already approved.

    The US said they would provide long-range missile defence and Switchblade armed drones, which will allow Kyiv’s forces to better defend against Russian aircraft from a distance.

    And the West has stepped up the range of powerful weapons being supplied to Ukraine, with Bayraktar TB2 drones, Stinger missiles and Portable anti-tank weapons being sent.

    It comes as Putin’s troops continue to press their assault on major cities, with fresh missile strikes and shelling on the edges of Kyiv and the western city of Lviv.

    Outside Lviv, black smoke billowed for hours after a strike early on Friday, which the mayor said hit a facility for repairing military aircraft near the city’s international airport, also damaging a bus repair facility.

    Early morning barrages also hit on the northern edges of the capital, with at least one person killed by shelling on Podil, a neighborhood just north of downtown Kyiv, according to emergency services.

    Meanwhile, Mariupol is being flattened by a squadron of 25 Russian bombers flying sorties over the city every day — with 90 per cent of all buildings damaged or destroyed.

    Around 14,000 elite Russian troops surround the city, with many of the 400,000 residents — trapped for a 17th day without power and running water — drinking from puddles to survive.

     Nick Gutteridge, Katie Davis

    Find this story at 18 March 2022

    EU member states exported weapons to Russia after the 2014 embargo (2022)
    31 maart 2022

    Missiles, aircraft, rockets, torpedoes, bombs. Russia continued to buy EU weapons until at least 2020. Despite the ongoing embargo, ten member states exported € 346 million worth of military equipment, according to public data analysed by Investigate Europe. Some of these weapons could be used against Ukraine now.

    “Our destinies are linked. Ukraine is part of the European family. Vladimir Putin’s aggression is an aggression against all the principles we hold dear” said EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Last week’s Versailles summit showed how the European Union is trying to unite after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Yet, just over a year ago, Vladimir Putin and his army were still good customers of the European arms industry. A third of the European Union’s member states exported arms to the Russian Federation, according to data from  the official Working Party of the Council on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM), analysed by Investigate Europe.

    This data from all EU-27 official arms exports registers shows that between 2015 and 2020, at least 10 EU member states have exported a total of €346 million worth of arms to Russia.s. France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain – to different extents – have sold “military equipment” to Russia. Our investigation shows that the term “military equipment” is broad and can include missiles, bombs, torpedoes, guns and rockets, land vehicles and ships.

    An embargo full of loopholes

    This is despite an embargo of the European Union that prohibits arms sales to Russia and which has been in place since 2014:

    The direct or indirect sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts therefore, to Russia by nationals of Member States or from the territories of Member States or using their flag vessels or aircraft, shall be prohibited whether originating or not in their territories.

    COUNCIL DECISION 2014/512/CFSP of 31 July 2014

    This decision followed the annexation of Crimea and the proclamation of the Donbas separatist republics. However, in the EU, the arms trade continued, as official data shows.

    Many of the EU countries that exported weapons to Russia used a legal loophole in the EU regulations to continue their ongoing trade. The Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports of the Council answered IE’s questions, explaining that “the EU arms embargo contains the following exemption: contracts concluded before 1 August 2014 or ancillary contracts necessary for the execution of such contracts. The figures you find in the database should fall under this exemption. Member States are responsible to ensure compliance with the arms embargo and the EU Common Position.” That’s why, COARM concludes, “Member States are not arming Russia.”

    But the conclusion is not that simple. Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), makes a distinction between the regular economic trade and arms exports. “Weapons are a part of our foreign policy, not of economic policy. Political reasons are the main thing.”

    According to the COARM data, after 2014 Member States issued more than a thousand licences (editor’s note: general authorisations for arms deals), while barely a hundred were refused. And at the top of the list of European exporters? France.

    France, top exporter of arms to Russia

    As reported by Disclose, France has sold €152 million worth of military equipment to Russia. A figure confirmed by Investigate Europe’s analysis, and places France far ahead of its neighbours, exporting 44% of European arms to Russia.

    Our investigation found that since 2015 France has given its authorisation to export military equipment belonging to the category  “bombs, rockets, torpedoes, missiles, explosive charges”, weapons directly lethal but also “imaging equipment, aircraft with their components and ‘lighter-than-air vehicles’”.

    According to Disclose, French exports also include “thermal imaging cameras for more than 1,000 Russian tanks, as well as navigation systems and infrared detectors for fighter jets and combat helicopters. The Kremlin bought these from  Safran and Thales, whose main shareholder is the French state. This equipment can now be found on-board the land vehicles, fighters and helicopters operating on the Ukrainian front.

    The number of licences issued by France jumped in 2015,  immediately after the embargo (see data visualisation). In 2014, according to our research, the French authorities were still giving their authorisation to send to Russia “chemical agents”, “biological agents”, “riot control agents”, “radioactive materials, related equipment, components and material”.

    Questioned on Friday 4t March by IE, the Ministry of the Armed Forces took 11 days to reply  that France is committed “to apply very strictly” the 2014 embargo. The missiles, rockets, torpedoes and bombs sold to Russia over the past five years are “in a word, a residual flow, resulting from past contracts (…) and which has gradually died out”, assures the French government.

    Germany: €122 million for guns and vessels

    According to information collected by Investigate Europe, Germany exported €121.8 million worth of military equipment to Russia. This represents 35% of all EU arms exports to Russia. It mainly consisted of icebreaker vessels, but also included   rifles, and “special protection” vehicles which were sent to Russia. The German government has not responded to questions about this from Investigate Europe.

    The German exports are labelled “dual use”. This is why even German politicians critical of the weapons exports and pacifist NGOs contacted by Investigate Europe don’t consider the exports a legal breach of the embargo.

    Hannah Neumann, member of the European Parliament of the German Green Party, and member of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, is upset by the situation. “Each country exports according to its own will, we need a common policy on arms exports, based on law and transparency with the involvement of the European Parliament (…)”, she told us “I am tired of backdoor deals to the benefit of only the arms industry and at the detriment of joint EU foreign policy – and peace“.

    Italy: Land vehicles on the Ukrainian frontline

    In third place on the list of exporters COARM data shows Italy, which has sold €22.5 million worth of military equipment to Russia between 2015 and 2020. According to our investigation, the first big contract signed with the Federation happened in 2015, when the government of Matteo Renzi authorised the Italian company Iveco to sell €25 million worth of land vehicles to Russia. Investigate Europe was able to read the “final authorisation” delivered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the minister at that time was Paolo Gentiloni, now European Commissioner). In the end, our research shows that only €22.5 million worth of equipment went to Russia. But the war vehicles – the Lynce model, produced by IVECO – were clearly spotted by a journalist on the TV channel La 7 on the Ukrainian frontline, in the beginning of March. These vehicles were assembled in one of the three factories that Iveco has in Russia, but assembled from Italian parts.

    Giorgio Beretta, Analyst at the Permanent Observatory on Light Weapons (OPAL), told IE:

    “In arms export it’s mainly a political decision, the Italian government could have refused, then go into a legitimate trial with the arms company, and a judge would have taken into account the political situation and the need to respect a European agreement.”

    After 2015, the flow of weapons and ammunition exported to Russia from Italy decreased, only to rise again in 2021.r. According to the Italian statistical office, Istat, data for foreign trade, between January and November 2021 Italy delivered €21.9 million worth of ‘arms and ammunition to Russia. This included ‘common arms’ such as rifles, pistols, ammunition and accessories.

    How is it possible that six years after the embargo went into force, that the Italian government could still licence so many arms? These weapons – semi-automatic rifles and ammunition – were sold to the Russian civilian market, which includes private security, para-military and special State bodies.

    Small exporters, big weapons

    Looking at what other Member States were exporting to Russia in this period, some of them also had a constant flow of exports, albeit on a much smaller scale than the big suppliers. The Czech Republic exported “aircraft, lighter than air vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, aero-engines and aircraft equipment” every year between 2015 and 2019.

    Austria also continued to export military equipment to Russia every year, “smooth-bore weapons with a calibre of less than 20mm, other arms and automatic weapons with a calibre of 12,7mm” and “ammunition and fuse setting devices, and specially designed components”.

    Bulgaria had two deals, in 2016 and 2018, exporting “vessels of war, (surface or underwater) special naval equipment, accessories, components and other surface vessels” and “technology” for the “development”, “production” or “use” of items controlled in the EU Common Military List”, worth €16.5 million. Finland, Spain, Slovakia and Croatia each had one export to Russia, of a much smaller amount, in the previous years.

    But Europe is not alone in having to deal with contradictions regarding their exports. According to SIPRI’s data on arms exports, there’s an even stranger fact: it was not just the EU selling arms to Russia after the annexation of Crimea – Russia also remained the second biggest market for weapons exports from Ukraine.

    By Laure Brillaud, Ana Curic, Maria Maggiore, Leïla Miñano and Nico Schmidt

    Edited by Paulo Pena and Juliet Ferguson

     

    Find this story at 17 March 2022

    Staggering data shows NATO aided Putin by supplying arms being used against Ukraine (2022)
    31 maart 2022
    STAGGERING unearthed data has revealed several NATO countries – including the UK – have supplied weapons and military equipment to Russia worth hundreds of millions of pounds, some of which are likely to be used against Ukraine today.

    NATO military alliance members including the UK, France and Germany, are being accused of supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by continuing to supply weapons to the Russian military up until at least 2020, despite an embargo following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. According to data unearthed from the Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports (COARM), a third of the European Union’s member states have exported weapons to Russia in recent years.

    The COARM data, first analysed by Investigate Europe, reveals a staggering €346million (£290million) worth of military equipment – including aircraft, vehicles, missiles, rockets, torpedos and bombs – was exported to Russia from at least 10 EU countries between 2015 and 2020.

    The report reveals several “loopholes” in an embargo against issuing weapons to Moscow after the 2014 Crimea annexation which were exploited by European countries.

    Under the terms of the embargo, existing contracts could be fulfilled provided that they had been agreed to before 2014 – allowing nations to provide Russia’s military with weapons until 2020.

    France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain are all implicated in the report, with France singled out as the top exporter of arms to Russia.

    Additionally, data from the UK Government’s Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) shows the UK may also have taken advantage of this loophole.

    So what has the UK supplied?

    According to the ECJU data – which was compiled by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) group – the UK granted 30 licences to export £3.7million worth of goods classes “for military purpose” to Russia between the 2014 embargo and September 2018.

    Most of the licences were given in 2014, with additional licences in 2015 and 2016 with the last being in 2018 – according to the data which runs to the end of September 2021.

    These included £1.4million to fund military aircraft, helicopter and drone components, as well as a further £1.2million worth of ammunition.

    A total of £780,000 was approved for electronic equipment and £312,000 on small arms, while another £26,000 was paid out for equipment and test models and £2,900 on imaging equipment.

    Note these figures do not necessarily reflect the actual value of good exported – the ECJU only collects data on the value of goods that companies were given permission to export, regardless of whether these contracts are eventually fulfilled.

    Additionally, companies can be awarded ‘dual use’ licences for both military and non-military purposes by the Government, which weren’t halted under the 2014 embargo.

    Including dual-purpose licences, a total of 1,129 licences have been granted to Russia since the annexing of Crimea, taking the total combined value to £1.2billion.

    On February 24, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would suspend dual-purpose licences to Russia as part of a package of sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

    A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK has not granted any licences to Russia that would be inconsistent with the sanctions measures imposed in July 2014.

    “Following the illegal invasion of Ukraine, we suspended approval of new export licences for dual-use items to Russia with immediate effect.

    “The UK takes its export control responsibilities extremely seriously. All licences not consistent with sanctions measures will be revoked and military exports to Russia remain prohibited.”

     

    What about the rest of the EU?

    According to the COARM data, France has emerged as the top exporter to Russia since 2014, with 44 percent of European arms to Russia originating there.

    In total, the country issued more than 70 licences worth €152million (£128million) from 2014.

    According to the Investigate Europe report on the figures, France has given authorisation to export items in the category of “bombs, rockets, torpedoes, missiles, explosive charges” alongside “imaging equipment, aircraft with their components and ‘lighter-than-air vehicles’”.

    Furthermore, a report into the statistics by the independent Franch outlet Disclose showed that thermal imaging cameras and infrared sensors were purchased from  French shareholder companies Safran and Thales.

    This equipment is reported to adorn Russian tanks and fighter jets operating on the Ukrainian frontline in today’s brutal war.

    Like the UK, the data shows most French licences were granted directly after the annexation of Crimea and have slowly declined since 2015 under the embargo.

    France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces told Investigate Europe the country is committed “to apply very strictly” to the 2014 embargo and that weapons given to Russia since were “a residual flow, resulting from past contracts… and which has gradually died out”.

    Germany also tops the list, with the figures showing the nation exported 35 percent of all EU arms to Russia, totalling €121.8million (£102.25million) worth of equipment.

    This included icebreaker vessels, rifles and “special protection” vehicles.

    German exports were largely granted under ‘dual use’ licences – as such, the exports are not deemed to be in breach of the 2014 sanctions, Investigate Europe said.

    In third place, the COARM figures show Italy has sold weapons to Russia totalling €22.5million (£18.8million) with the first contract signed in 2015 authorising up to €25million (£20million) worth of land vehicles parts.

    Such vehicles have been seen on the Ukrainian front line by the Italian TV channel La7.

    Elsewhere in the data, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain are also implied in arms sales to Russia.

    By NATALIE CROOKHAM
    Germany exported military equipment to Russia despite embargo: Report (2022)
    31 maart 2022

    $134 million worth of military equipment shipped between 2014 and 2020, despite EU sanctions on Russia, according to local media

    Germany shipped €122 million ($134 million) worth of military equipment to Russia despite the EU arms embargo in effect since 2014, local media has reported. Nine other EU member states also exported military goods during that time, said the report.

    German arms exports to Russia between 2014 and 2020 included special protection vehicles and icebreaker vessels but also lethal weapons such as rifles, according to a report by Investigate Europe.

    Economy Ministry spokesperson Annike Einhorn told reporters on Friday that since the EU’s arms embargo in 2014, Germany has not granted any new licenses for exports of military equipment to Russia.

    But she was unable to account for the deliveries that continued until 2020.

    According to the report, between 2014 and 2020 at least 10 EU member states exported a total of €346 million worth of arms to Russia.

    France was the top exporter of arms to Russia, with €152 million worth of military equipment, followed by Germany (€122 million) and Italy (€22 million).

    Following Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the EU decided to ban export or transfer of any arms and related material to Russia.

    Ayhan Simsek   |18.03.2022

     

    Find this story at 18 March 2022

    France, Germany and Italy sold hundreds of millions of pounds worth of arms and military kit to Russia for years despite embargo (2022)
    31 maart 2022

    France, Germany and Italy sold hundreds of millions worth of arms to Russia 

    They sold military kit to the Kremlin for years despite an EU embargo banning it

    They were three of at least 10 countries to use a loophole to get past the ban 

    France alone sold €152million out of a total €350million (£293million) exported

    France, Germany and Italy used a loophole in a ban of exporting arms to Russia to send the Kremlin €296million worth of military equipment that is now being used against Ukraine.

    They were just three of at least 10 EU member states to export almost €350million (£293million) in equipment that can include missiles, rockets, ships and bombs.

    It should have been impossible to do so owing to an EU embargo that banned selling arms to Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

    A T-72B3  is one of the tanks French military kit could be equipped on. Pictured: A T-72B3 during a military drill in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 14, 2022, ten days before the war in Ukraine started

    France, Germany and Italy used a loophole in a ban of exporting arms to Russia to send the Kremlin €296million worth of military equipment that is now being used against Ukraine. They were just three of at least 10 EU member states to export almost €350million (£293million) in equipment that can include missiles, rockets, ships and bombs

    The EU banned ’the direct or indirect sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related material of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts therefore, to Russia’ eight years ago.

    However, countries were able to sell hundreds of millions of pounds worth of kit to Russia despite the ban using a backdoor technicality that permitted contacts signed before August 1, 2014, or additional contracts that would help conclude those deals.

    France was responsible for the majority of exports, raking in €152 million in sales, as revealed by Disclose.

    Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian Su-30SM jet, which could have had French infrared kit on board, over the outskirts of Kyiv, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured

    A Russian helicopter is shot down somewhere over Kyiv (left), while the wreckage of what appears to be a jet falls from the skies near the capital (right). European detecting systems may have been attached to Russian helicopters

    That amounts to 44 per cent of European arms exported to Russia, as reported by Investigate Europe.

    From 2015 French authorities allowed the sale of weapons that fell into the category of bombs, rockets, torpedoes, missiles and explosive charges to Russia.

    Other exports included thermal imaging cameras for more than 1,000 Russian tanks, including T-80BVMs and T-72B3s, and infrared spotters for attack jets and helicopters.

    Even in 2014 France was still allowing the sale of chemical and biological weapons to Moscow.

    Germany came in at a close second, exporting 35 per cent of all EU arms to Putin with €121.8million sold.

    Italy sold the third most, exporting €22.5million from 2015 to 2020. They also allegedly sold €21.9million in arms and ammunition to Russian civilians and paramilitary groups between January and November 2021.

    Britain also sold £1.7million worth of army to Russia after the EU ban was imposed.

    President Zelensky of Ukraine has maintained calls for more Western support, weapons as well as a no-fly zone as Putin’s invasion today entered its fourth week.

    Vladimir Putin today held a huge rally to prop-up support for his invasion of Ukraine in front of thousands of ‘Z’ flag-waving Russians crammed into Moscow’s Luzhniki World Cup stadium.

    The pro-war event saw the Russian talk about the success of his ‘special operation’ in Ukraine.

    Vladimir Putin today held a huge rally to prop-up support for his invasion of Ukraine in front of thousands of ‘Z’ flag-waving Russians crammed into Moscow’s Luzhniki World Cup stadium

    Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.

    As his bombs continued to fall just hundreds of miles away in Ukraine, Putin boasted of Russia and Crimea’s ‘shared destiny’, and praised the peninsula’s people for voting in a referendum to be part of Russia – which was held while it was still occupied by Russian troops.

    ‘We are united by the same destiny,’ he said of the people of Russia and Crimea. ‘This is how the people thought and that’s what they were guided by when they had the referendum in Sevastopol.

    ‘They want to share their historical destiny with their motherland Russia – let us congratulate them on this occasion, it is their occasion. Congratulations,’ he said to huge cheers.

    Putin repeated false claims about neo-Nazis in Ukraine, a line he has used repeatedly in an attempt to justify his invasion – despite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky being Jewish, and far-right parties enjoying almost no political support in the country.

    By Chris Matthews

     

    Find this story at 18 March 2022

    France continued to deliver Russia weapons after 2014 embargo
    31 maart 2022

    France continued to issue arms export licences to Russia after the 2014 embargo, investigative website Disclose has revealed.

    According to leaked documents, French companies delivered arms to Russia after the EU imposed sanctions, including an arms embargo, against Russia in 2014. France has since issued more than 70 licences to export military equipment to companies worth €152 million.

    Contacted by EURACTIV France, the Armed Forces ministry confirmed that France “allowed “the execution of certain contracts concluded before 2014”, something the EU embargo against Russia allowed.

    According to the ministry, other European countries did the same. Additional export licences the ministry considered problematic like those for Mistral fighter jets had not been fulfilled.

    But equipment delivered after 2014 would have enabled Russia’s army and air force to modernise its vehicles, notably with cameras and navigation systems for aircraft, Disclose reported. According to the ministry, this is a “residual flow from past contracts […] that has gradually died out” and is mentioned in annual reports to parliament.

    The latest report to parliament on arms deliveries from 2021 shows a considerable decrease since 2016 in the number of delivery licences granted by France, both in terms of number and value of equipment delivered, with 2020 seeing the lowest figure of around €300,000.

    Since 2018, Russia has not placed any more arms orders despite being France’s largest buyer from 2011, the report states.

     

    By Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr

     15 Mar 2022

     

    Find this story at 15 March 2022

    A Third of EU Member States Exported Weapons to Russia (2022)
    31 maart 2022

    A third of European Union (EU) member states exported weapons to Russia after the 2014 embargo banning them, according to data from the working group, which records all military exports from the 27, analyzed by Investigate Europe.

    The data, released today in the newspaper Public, indicate that 10 EU countries exported weapons to Russia after the July 2014 embargo, which prohibits “the direct or indirect sale, supply, transfer or export of weapons and related material”. The 2014 embargo followed the annexation of Crimea and the proclamation of the breakaway republics of Donbass six months earlier.Every year, the 27 member states submit their data to the Council of the EU Working Group on Conventional Arms Exports, COARM.

    Data analyzed by the Investigate Europe consortium indicates that between 2015 and 2021 at least 10 member states exported weapons to Russia worth a total of 346 million euros.

    According to the consortium’s investigation, some European Union countries used a legal loophole in regulations to continue their trade.

    The embargo “does not apply to contracts and agreements, nor to ongoing negotiations carried out before August 1, 2014, nor to the supply of spare parts and services necessary for the maintenance and security of existing capacities,” according to the consortium.

    COARM explained in a response sent to Investigate Europe that “the EU arms embargo contains the following exemption: contracts concluded before 1 August 2014 or accessory contracts for the performance of such contracts. should be covered by this exemption. Member States are responsible for ensuring compliance with the arms embargo and the EU Common Position”.According to COARM, member states are not arming Russia.

    Investigate Europe’s analysis puts France far ahead of EU partners, with 44% of sales to Russia.

    Since 2015, France has issued export licenses for “bombs, rockets, torpedoes, missiles, explosive charges”, but also “imaging equipment, planes with their components and drones”.

    According to the survey, in 2014 French arms dealers authorized the shipment to Russia of “toxic chemical or biological agents, riot control agents and radioactive substances”.

    After France comes Germany, which, according to the consortium, exported 121.8 million euros to Russia, representing 35% of total exports.Behind France and Germany are also Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain, but with lower sales. Portugal is not part of this group.

    Find this story at 17 March 2022
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