Russia has deepened a crackdown on European companies in response to Europe's support for Ukraine, while largely sparing US firms as Moscow courts business ties with Washington, Russian officials and US business people said, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Of 20 foreign-owned firms that Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed under temporary administration since US President Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2025, only three were linked to the US, with the remainder controlled by European companies, a Reuters analysis of official data shows.
A person close to Russian financial regulators told Reuters that while business negotiations were underway with Washington, it was not in Moscow's interest to take as tough a line on US firms as the Kremlin was adopting towards those from Europe. Russia, citing Europe's wartime support for Ukraine and involvement in what it called "direct battlefield hostilities", has since last month taken control of the local units of Swiss food group Nestle and retailers Auchan and Metro, Reuters reported. Last week it seized control of the local assets of four smaller companies from France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium.
"Their country of origin was one of the factors taken into account in making the decision," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that those countries were involved in "illegal expropriations of Russian property", Reuters reported. The crackdown came as US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday for talks aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, and Russian news agencies reported Putin told Witkoff he was interested in restoring economic ties with the United States. Ukraine and its allies have voiced concerns that the US is backing away from Kyiv, and Trump has criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries even as European leaders have lined up behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Reuters reported. Sources: Reuters via WIXX (Oct 21, 2026); Reuters via SRN News (Oct 21, 2026); Reuters via DevDiscourse (Oct 21, 2026).