Russia has taken control of the local operations of several European-linked companies, including metal packaging assets that Sonoco acquired with its 2024 purchase of Eviosys, in what Moscow says is retaliation for Europe’s backing of Ukraine.

A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday 15 October covers the Russian assets of German closures and packaging specialist Menshen, Swedish packaging firm Sverige International Holdings, French flooring manufacturer Tarkett and Belgian hygiene products group Ontex.

The former Eviosys operations are listed under Sonoco’s Dutch subsidiary. The US packaging group bought Eviosys in December 2024. Sonoco had already completed its own withdrawal from Russia in 2022, but took on a fresh Russian footprint through the deal. According to its 2025 annual report, those assets accounted for around 0.5% of the group total.

Temporary management of the seized businesses has been passed to Russian companies with little public profile.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the companies’ home countries had been one of the factors behind the decision, accusing those nations of illegally expropriating Russian property. The Kremlin described the measures as a response to European involvement in the conflict, but said they could be reversed.

The latest move follows similar action last month against Nestlé and retailers Auchan and Metro.

Ontex, which employs around 350 people in Russia and runs a factory near Moscow, confirmed it had been notified and said it would look at how to protect its assets and keep its Russian business running. Tarkett said it was losing effective control of its operations in the country and was assessing its position.

Speaking to Russian business leaders shortly before the decree was published, Putin conceded that taking over Western assets came with some drawbacks, though he did not elaborate. He encouraged the new operators to look to domestic sources of finance, pointing to the 2008 financial crisis as a warning about over-reliance on global markets.

The seizures come against a backdrop of continued tension over the roughly €210 billion of Russian sovereign assets frozen by the EU since the start of the war. There have also been reports that the US could seek control of some of those frozen funds as part of efforts to bring Russia to the negotiating table.

Source: Reuters