According to reports, the Ukrainian government has listed major companies that are passively financing Russian aggression by continuing to operate in Russia, as China and France strongly oppose naming and shaming companies. It is reported that the country is considering abolishing the “international war supporters” blacklist.
Two sources told Reuters on Thursday that Ukraine may scrap its list of war sponsors and its list. Website within a few days.
The Council of Ministers of Ukraine meeting On Wednesday, it decided to remove public access to the International War Supporters website following complaints from foreign embassies that there was no “regulatory framework” governing the list. Ministers also felt that a list of war sponsors was unnecessary because the Ukrainian government also maintains a legally enforceable National Sanctions Register.
National Anti-Corruption Agency of Ukraine (NAZK) Created It is expected to be placed on the list in summer 2022, with the aim of increasing public pressure on international companies that have not suspended their operations in Russia.
One basis for shaming corporations as “war sponsors” is that they pay taxes to the Russian government, which is spending lavishly on the stalled invasion of Ukraine. As NAZK noted, some companies pay for advertising in Russian media, use local services such as food delivery, or “cooperate with state and local law enforcement agencies in the aggressor country.” are doing.
Most of the 50 companies currently listed as war sponsors are relatively unknown, but there are some big-name entries, including Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and Subway. Fourteen of the listed companies are Chinese companies, including energy giants such as Sinopec and technology giants such as Alibaba Group. China is Russia’s largest remaining international ally after its brutal invasion of Ukraine.
NAZK claims that there are approximately 1,600 foreign companies operating in Russia after the invasion, but only a small number of them have been added to the list of international sponsors of the war. The blacklist is purely a public relations exercise and has no legal force within Ukraine.
According to Reuters sources, China is leaning most heavily on Ukraine being delisted.China officially requested Ukraine removed all Chinese companies from its list in February, suggesting that China’s bulk purchases of Ukrainian grain could be at risk if Kiev did not comply.
“It’s China, but it’s not just China,” one source said, noting that France, Austria and Hungary were also unhappy with Ukraine’s inclusion of prominent companies on the list.
ukraine Added French retailers Ocean and Leroy Merlin joined the list in February 2023, naming senior managers at the company. to support Russia’s war effort.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian subsidiary of the French company Ocean has paid taxes into the budget of the terrorist state and supplied supplies to the Russian military in the occupied territories of Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid to civilians. We help military enlistment offices recruit conscripts,” NAZK said. Paid.
Natsuku accused A large Russian subsidiary of home improvement and garden retailer Leroy Merlin provides “high returns” to the Russian government.
Ukraine has taken action against the French company. joint investigation Made in France Le Monde The newspaper and the security firm Bellingcat found evidence that Auchan and Leroy Merlin were directly supplying Russian troops on the Ukrainian front.
Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International was once on the list of international war sponsors, while Ukraine deleted it Austria has approved additional European Union sanctions against Russia on the condition that Ukraine removes the bank from its blacklist.
similar situation Occurred When it signed a deal with Hungary’s OTP Bank in October 2023, the bank also promised to introduce new restrictions on Russian operations to appease Ukrainians.
“If the end of the defamation campaign comes to fruition, it will reveal how Kiev has softened its stance more than two years after the full-scale invasion and as it struggles to maintain global support for its war effort. “It will show us what we have to do,” Reuters suggested.
