Russia targets European firms as Zelenskiy heads to EU summit

Russia has escalated economic tensions with the West by placing the local assets of several prominent European companies under temporary state management.

A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin targeted assets belonging to French flooring maker Tarkett, German packaging maker Menshen, Swedish packaging maker Sverige International Holdings, Belgian hygiene product company Ontex, and Dutch units/assets tied to U.S.-owned packaging group Sonoco (via its acquisition of Eviosys).

The move came directly ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s appearance at an EU summit in Brussels, coinciding with intensifying discussions in the West over potentially leveraging roughly €210 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets.

The Kremlin framed the seizure as a retaliatory measure against EU nations for their financial and military support of Ukraine, though officials stressed that the temporary management scheme is technically "reversible".

Russia criticizes the EU for freezing about €210 billion ($238 billion) of its sovereign assets in ⁠response to the war and for targeting assets belonging to Russian companies in Europe and other Western countries.

This follows similar actions taken against other major European footprints in Russia, including food giant Nestlé and retail chains Auchan and Metro.