Seized Western subsidiaries in Russia sent $86.6 million to the war effort

Russian subsidiaries of Western companies placed under state management have donated 7.1 billion rubles ($86.6 million) to support the war in Ukraine, according to corporate disclosures and financial data compiled by Bloomberg and independent media.

The payments allow locally installed managers to demonstrate loyalty to the Kremlin after operational control was taken from foreign parent companies, which say they no longer have oversight of their former subsidiaries. A spokesperson for the Dutch paint maker AkzoNobel said: "We have lost all visibility of the activities of the Russian companies."

AkzoNobel's Russian manager, who was also handed operational control of the Italian electrical equipment maker DKC Europe, transferred 3 billion rubles ($36.6 million) to purchase military equipment. The Russian unit of the Polish packaging manufacturer Can-Pack donated 1.5 billion rubles ($18.3 million), and the Russian joint venture of Belgium's AB InBev and Turkey's Anadolu Efes disclosed 1 billion rubles ($12.2 million).

Germany's Metro AG announced another 1-billion-ruble donation from its Russian business, while the Russian unit of Denmark's Rockwool gave 600 million rubles ($7.3 million).

Most of the money went to "Everything for Victory!", a project managed by President Vladimir Putin's political coalition, the People's Front. The donations have bought drones, vehicles and communications systems for Russian troops.

The seizures stem from a 2023 order by Putin granting the state authority to place assets of companies from "unfriendly" countries — those supporting Ukraine — under temporary management. He has described the moves as a symmetrical response to Western sanctions and the freezing of Russian state assets, and said control could be returned under favourable conditions.

The exiled business outlet The Bell reported in October that the Russian government expects businesses to pay $5.7 billion in voluntary contributions to plug a widening budget deficit. Russia's state military budget is projected to exceed 17 trillion rubles ($206.7 billion) this year.