German companies participate in rebuilding Mariupol despite Russia’s control

Mariupol fell into the hands of Russian forces after a two-month siege that claimed thousands of lives and turned the city into ruins.
The magazine also relied on statements by an “official distributor” of Knauf products promoting a residential project established for the Russian Ministry of Defense in Mariupol and in whose construction the German company’s products were used.
The magazine said, “The products of WKB Systems, in which Russian businessman Viktor Budarin owns a majority stake, can also be seen at construction sites in Mariupol.”
In a statement sent to Agence France-Presse, Knauf stressed that it “respects all sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States against Russia.”
The Bavarian group operates 14 production sites in Russia and employs four thousand people.

It said its decision not to withdraw from Russia – as many major German groups did in the wake of the war – was due to its “responsibility” towards its employees and workers.