Russia is increasingly targeting European firms over their countries’ support for Ukraine, while largely sparing US businesses as Moscow seeks closer economic ties with Washington. A report suggested that only three of the 20 foreign-owned companies placed under Russian administration since US president Donald Trump took office in January 2025 were linked to the US.The remaining companies were controlled by European firms, highlighting the disparity in how Moscow has treated Western businesses amid the war in Ukraine and its efforts to improve economic ties with the Trump administration.A person close to Russian financial regulators told news agency Reuters that, with business negotiations under way with Washington, Moscow had little incentive to adopt the same hard line towards US firms as it had towards European businesses.The latest seizures include local units of Swiss food group Nestle and retailers Auchan and Metro. Russia also took control of assets belonging to four smaller companies from France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium last week.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the companies’ countries of origin were among the factors considered. He accused the countries involved of “illegal expropriations of Russian property”.A spokesperson for Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said available information supported the perception that more European than US firms were being targeted. The European Commission described the recent seizures as “forced expropriation in all but name”.“This follows a clear pattern of economic retaliation,” a Commission spokesperson told Reuters, adding that the actions showed “Russia is not a safe environment for business”.
Moscow courts US investment
The contrast comes as contacts between Moscow and the Trump administration have intensified. US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday for talks on the Ukraine war. Russian news agencies reported that Putin expressed interest in restoring economic ties with Washington.Trump had announced a deal with Putin to resume Russian diesel supplies to US and global markets, with Russia set to dispatch its first cargo to the US on Thursday, Reuters reported. Trump also signed an executive order waiving key Russia-related sanctions and tariffs before they took effect under a new law, saying the move was in the US national interest.Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has advocated the return and expansion of US businesses. He said last week that Russia and the US would soon announce joint initiatives that could proceed before the war ends.Trump has also taken steps aimed at easing economic restrictions on Russia, including signing an executive order on Saturday waiving key sanctions and tariffs on Russian goods, according to the report.Two US business people in Moscow told Reuters that Trump’s commitment to economic cooperation and ongoing negotiations had helped protect American companies. American Chamber of Commerce Russia president Robert Agee had previously summed up US business sentiment by saying: “We have Trump and they don’t, and our hopes are linked to him.”
US detainee released during envoy’s visit
Separately, Russia on Wednesday released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American who had been jailed for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Hubbard’s legal team denied the allegations, while the US government under former president Joe Biden had designated him wrongfully detained.Trump said he had asked Putin to release Hubbard and that the US had not needed to free anyone in exchange. “He is the happiest man around,” Trump said, describing Hubbard as a “very high-quality, innocent man”.
