According to the Knauf Group, its business does not violate the Russian sanctions imposed by the EU, Great Britain and the United States.
Two German construction companies are participating in the reconstruction of the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, says the German ARD channel’s Monitor program in its report.
Monitor is a topical program on politics, economy and society.
The companies Knauf and WKB Systems are said to have supplied building materials. Knauf manufactures plasterboard and WKB Systems manufactures lightweight concrete, reports news agency AFP.
The editors of the Monitor program say that they have gone through numerous photos taken from construction sites that show the logo of the Knauf group. In addition, the program tells about the company’s detailed operational reports, which reveal the company’s presence in the city of Mariupol.
Russia occupied Mariupol at the end of a siege that lasted two months and claimed thousands of lives. The port city was almost completely destroyed.
In addition, the program quotes Knauf’s official distributor, who advertises the completion of residential buildings in the city of Mariupol. The distributor advertises that it is building on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Defense and using Knauf products.
Evidence of WKB Systems’ products can also be seen in the photos taken from the Mariupol construction sites. Russian businessman Viktor Budarin has a majority stake in the company.
In its statement, Knauf says that the company respects “all sanctions against Russia imposed by the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom” in its transactions.
Knauf has a total of 14 production units in Russia, which employ approximately 4,000 employees.
The company has justified its decision not to end its business in Russia on the basis of its duty to its employees.
German Foreign Ministry: The building plan is Russian propaganda
After occupying the city of Mariupol, Russia has announced a plan to rebuild it. Before the occupation, about 400,000 Ukrainians lived in the city.
– Every company involved in construction should ask itself whose service it is placing itself in, commented the German Foreign Ministry information to AFP.
The ministry also commented that the Russian plan is propaganda.
The German Ministry of Economy, in turn, commented to AFP that the authorities must decide whether the participation of German companies in the reconstruction violates the sanctions imposed on Russia.
Source: AFP