The Russian government has added the French car manufacturer Renault SAS to the sanctions list amid reports of the company's possible production of drones for Ukraine. This entails a ban on transactions and restrictions on fulfilling obligations to sanctioned companies.
The Russian government has added the French car manufacturer Renault SAS to its sanctions list amid reports of the company's possible production of drones for Ukraine. This is stated in a decree published on the official portal of legal information, reports UNN with reference to The Moscow Times.
Details
The publication indicates that it is a list of foreign companies operating in the field of military-technical cooperation, to which "special economic measures" are applied. It provides for retaliatory measures "in connection with unfriendly actions" of certain foreign states.
Among such measures are a ban on transactions for those on the list, including foreign trade contracts, restrictions on fulfilling obligations to sanctioned companies under already concluded agreements, a ban on making payments whose beneficiaries are persons from the list, as well as transactions with securities.
– the article says.
The authors add that the Russian government compiled this sanctions list in May 2022. It includes another category of companies that fell under restrictions: legal entities to which special economic measures apply. In June, another representative of the European automotive industry that operated on the Russian market, the truck manufacturer Daimler Truck AG (Germany), was added to this list.
For reference
Renault came to Russia in the early 1990s. In 1992-1993, the concern opened its first office, and in 1998, it signed an agreement with the Moscow government to create a joint venture "Avtoframos". By 2005, a full-cycle plant was created on its basis. Then Renault gradually increased its share in the enterprise to 100%, which in 2014 was renamed CJSC "Renault Russia".
In April 2022, after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the car concern, which occupied almost 30% of the Russian car market, decided to transfer its enterprises to the state for a symbolic price of one ruble, while receiving a six-year option with the possibility of buying back its business in the country.
After the company's departure, the Moscow plant "Renault Russia" was re-profiled into the "Moskvich" automobile plant, where they then began to assemble copies of Chinese cars under the Soviet brand from kits purchased in Beijing.
In June 2025, reports appeared that Renault could start producing drones in Ukraine, with a proposal to the concern from the French Ministry of Defense. The company itself claimed that a decision had not yet been made. After that, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov stated that the possible implementation of such plans would be an "unfriendly action" towards Russia and warned that it would also be an obstacle to Renault's return to Russia.
Recall
In June, then-French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that a "major French car manufacturer" would produce drones in Ukraine.
Renault does not rule out returning to Russia after the end of Russian military aggression in Ukraine21.02.25, 13:59 • 26989 views
