Updated

Vladimir Putin signed decrees placing the Russian assets of several major Western companies under temporary state management, continuing a pattern of asset seizures since 2023. This included Auchan and the former Leroy Merlin retailer Lemana PRO, Nestlé, and U.S. packaging maker AptarGroup's Aptar Vladimir plant, which was transferred to H&N, the same manager that took over Danone's Russian operations. The firm managing Auchan and Lemana PRO, L.E.V. Management, asked executives to keep stores and staff intact, and a police major general overseeing the seized firms vowed to protect the stores from drone attacks. The seizures are the latest in a series of moves by the Kremlin to bring foreign-owned businesses under domestic control amid Western sanctions and the ongoing war, raising further concerns among Western firms still operating in Russia.