Ukraines foreign minister on Friday accused French retailer Auchan of being a full-fledged weapon of Russian aggression following a joint investigation by The Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat that concluded the retail giant has actually been providing items to the Russian army.According to the investigation, goods including flack coats, along with non-military devices, worth an overall of 2 million rubles ($26,920) were sent as humanitarian aid by a Russian Auchan subsidiary to the Russian armed force in Kremlin-occupied parts of Ukraine.
A video from December mentioned by the report also shows members of the youth wing of Russias judgment United Russia celebration discharging bundles with the Leroy Merlin logo design on them in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol.
Last year, I prompted the world to boycott Auchan for stopping working to withdraw from Russia and stop moneying war criminal offenses.
The reality seems to be far worse: Auchan has evolved into a full-fledged weapon of Russian hostility, Dmytro Kuleba stated on Twitter.
Auchans Ukrainian subsidiary said it was stunned by the investigation.The report also declares that Auchan gathered data on Russian draft dodgers among its workers and commended Russian conscription workplaces.
Following Russias mobilization order in September, Auchan staff members were handed their call-up papers at work, The Insider stated, pointing out an eyewitness.A spokesperson for Auchan in France denied that the business had actually ever meddled in politics or had in any way supported the Russian armed force, while the companys Russian workplace refused to comment on the investigation.Auchan, which has around 30,000 staff and 230 stores across Russia, stated last year that it planned to keep its existence in the country regardless of the Russian intrusion of Ukraine, prompting Kyiv to require people to boycott the company.AFP contributed reporting.