“Let them be afraid”: Moscow sends message to EU with crackdown on European companies

Russia has targeted European companies in its latest crackdown to strip foreigners of the right to manage their assets on Russian soil, as the Kremlin accuses the European Union of involvement in the war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The assets of Swiss giant Nestlé, German wholesaler Metro AG and French retailer Auchan were placed under temporary administration this month. “The time has come for asymmetric measures. Let them think about what measures they are taking and what sanctions they are imposing,” a senior government source with direct knowledge told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Asked which companies could be next targets — including the Russian units of Italy’s UniCredit and Austria’s Raiffeisen banks — the source replied: “Let them be afraid.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday the decisions were prompted by “the growing involvement of these unfriendly countries in direct combat operations” against Russia, but suggested the moves could be reversible. “For now we see no basis for a reversal. We hear no reasonable voices calling for dialogue,” Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov raised the rhetoric further on Tuesday: “If you admit that your weapons are being used against us and we are shooting them down, call it what you will, but I have no doubt that this is a war Europe is waging against us,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters. Peskov offered no evidence or details of how European countries were involved in military operations; Russian officials have previously cited arms supplies, including drone production in the EU, as well as the provision of targeting information and intelligence.

Russia also criticises the EU for freezing around 210 billion euros ($238 billion) in Russian sovereign assets and for targeting Russian companies’ assets in Europe and other Western countries. According to the Russian news agency TASS, since the start of the war Russia has imposed temporary administration on 135 firms linked to foreign companies — the vast majority from EU countries, including French food group Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg. No major American company has been hit in a similar way, Reuters notes, as Moscow and Washington discuss business opportunities once peace returns to Ukraine.