DISINFO: Foreign firms that exited Russia now lining up to return
SUMMARY
Global firms are lining up to return to Russia. Foreign firms that exited Russia due to sanctions linked to the Ukraine conflict are now seeking to return. Multinationals are reportedly looking to re-access the country’s market amid Ukraine ceasefire talks.
RESPONSE
The claim is a gross distortion of facts, part of what some experts have labelled Russia’s economic war propaganda, aimed at convincing the world about the futility of the sanctions imposed on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine and the need to remove them.
The allegation has been refuted by statements of Russian officials themselves, including the deputy chairman of Russia’s National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, who on 21 March 2025 admitted that not a single company had applied to return to the Russian market so far. Other data and analysis shows that, while there may be some cases of brands and sectors open to return to Russia, most CEOs and investors see this country as an environment too dangerous for business, with little to gain and that remains hostile to foreign investment.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Putin has shown Russia’s economic supremacy to the world, that Russia became the World's 4th economic power thanks to the war in Ukraine, that Russia’s economy is massively outperforming that of the collective West, or that the Russian economy thrives despite EU sanctions.