Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort
Companies under temporary Russian management donate billions of rubles to support military operations.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Fotó: Baltika
Photograph: 444.hu (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Western companies seized by Russia are now funding the war in Ukraine, with donations totalling at least 7.1 billion rubles ($86.6 million).
- The funds are channelled to support the war effort, including the purchase of drones and military equipment.
- Donations come from Russian subsidiaries of companies like AkzoNobel, Can-Pack, AB InBev, Metro AG, and Rockwool.
- These companies are under temporary Russian management, with parent companies stating they have lost oversight.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 6 of the 12 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
12 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Russian subsidiaries of Western companies, placed under temporary state management, have collectively donated at least 7.1 billion rubles (approximately $86.6 million) to support the war in Ukraine. Corporate disclosures and financial data compiled by Bloomberg and independent media indicate these funds are used to acquire military equipment, including drones and vehicles, for Russian troops. The money is largely directed to the 'Everything for Victory!' project, managed by President Vladimir Putin’s political coalition, the People’s Front.
Parent companies of these subsidiaries have stated they no longer have oversight of their former Russian operations. For example, a spokesperson for AkzoNobel told Bloomberg that the company had lost all visibility into the activities of its Russian entities. The seizures are part of a 2023 decree by President Putin allowing state control over assets from countries deemed 'unfriendly' due to their support for Ukraine.
Donations by specific companies
Among the reported donations, AkzoNobel’s Russian manager reportedly transferred 3 billion rubles ($36.6 million) to purchase military equipment. The Russian unit of Polish packaging manufacturer Can-Pack donated 1.5 billion rubles ($18.3 million). The Russian joint venture of Belgian brewer AB InBev and Turkey’s Anatoly Efes disclosed a donation of 1 billion rubles ($12.2 million), as did the Russian business of German wholesale retailer Metro AG. Danish insulation manufacturer Rockwool’s Russian unit donated 600 million rubles ($7.3 million).
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned the specific figure of $5.7 billion in voluntary contributions that exiled business outlet The Bell reported the Russian government expects from businesses to plug the country’s budget deficit.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 13 Nov 2026, 13:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort
The Moscow Times — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports highlighted that the donations were made by 'seized' or 'captured' Western companies, framing the transfers as a consequence of Russian state action. The reports from 444.hu, Meduza, United24, unn.ua, and fakti.bg all used terms such as 'seized', 'captured', or 'taken over' to describe the status of these companies. They emphasised that these firms, now under temporary Russian management, are funding Putin's war effort with billions of rubles, directly supporting military needs like drones and equipment. The reports also noted that parent companies have lost oversight of their former subsidiaries.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from The Moscow Times focused on the financial aspect and the act of donation itself, stating that 'Seized Western Businesses Donate $86M to Russian War Effort'. It detailed the amounts donated by specific companies and noted that these contributions allow newly installed local managers to demonstrate loyalty to the Kremlin. The report also included context on Russia's widening budget deficit and its projected military spending, as well as a message from the publication about its own challenges.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 83% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 12. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort biased?
- Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Seized Western Firms Fund Russian War Effort?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How much money have seized Western companies donated to Russia's war effort?
- Seized Russian subsidiaries of Western companies have donated at least 7.1 billion rubles, which is approximately $86.6 million. These funds are being used to support the war in Ukraine, including the purchase of military equipment and drones for Russian troops.
- Which companies have made these donations?
- Donations have been reported from the Russian units of AkzoNobel (3 billion rubles), Can-Pack (1.5 billion rubles), AB InBev and Anatoly Efes (1 billion rubles), Metro AG (1 billion rubles), and Rockwool (600 million rubles). These companies are now under temporary Russian management.
- What is the purpose of these donations?
- The donations are intended to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine. Funds are reportedly used to purchase military equipment, drones, vehicles, and communication systems for Russian troops. Much of the money goes to a fund managed by President Putin's political coalition.
Read it at the source
12 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Russia Seized Western Companies—Now Their Assets Are Helping Fund Its War in Ukraine (opens United24 in a new tab)
- Foreign Companies Captured by Putin Help Finance Russian Military Machine (opens unn.ua in a new tab)
- Foreign Companies in Russia Are Financing Putin's War with Billions of Rubles (opens fakti.bg in a new tab)
- Russia is using seized foreign companies to funnel billions of rubles into its war effort, Bloomberg reports (opens Meduza in a new tab)
- Putin Took over Western Companies, Their New Russian Owners Are Now Funding His War with Billions (opens 444.hu in a new tab)
Centre
1Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
6- Bloomberg: Seized Companies Finance Russia's Army (opens tvrain.tv in a new tab)
- This Is How European Corporations Are Financing Putin's War (opens Aktuality.sk in a new tab)
Aktuality.sk — is Aktuality.sk biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Foreign Companies Seized by Russia End up Financing Putin's Army. Millions of Euros for Drones (opens Stirile Pro TV in a new tab)
Stirile Pro TV — is Stirile Pro TV biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Foreign Companies that Have Been Placed Under Temporary Administration in Russia Are Putting Billions Into War with Ukraine. (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Over 7 Billion Rubles Were Donated to the Front by Companies Transferred to the Provisional Authority (opens istories.media in a new tab)
istories.media — is istories.media biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Foreign Businesses Putin Seized Help Fund Russia's War Machine (opens BizToc in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
