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Russia Sanctions French Renault for Backing Ukraine’s Drone Industry
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Russia has added French automaker Renault SAS to its sanctions list in response to reports that the company may support drone production for Ukraine.
According to The Moscow Times, the move is part of what Moscow calls “special economic measures” targeting foreign companies engaged in defense-related cooperation.
The official decree was published on Russia’s legal information portal and names Renault among companies allegedly involved in military-technical activities.
These measures, introduced in 2022, allow the Russian government to block sanctioned firms from signing new contracts with Russian partners, restrict payments, and authorize domestic entities to suspend their obligations under existing agreements.
According to The Moscow Times, the sanctions were triggered by reports from June 2025 suggesting that Renault had approached France’s Ministry of Defense with a proposal to begin manufacturing drones in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov publicly criticized the idea, calling it an “unfriendly act” and warning that such a move could permanently block Renault’s return to the Russian market.
Renault has not commented publicly on the reports.
The French manufacturer had operated in Russia since the early 1990s, initially partnering with the Moscow government to form the joint venture Avtoframos. By 2005, Renault controlled the project and later rebranded it as Renault Russia.
However, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Renault exited the country, transferring its assets to the Russian state for a symbolic price of one ruble. As part of the agreement, Renault retained a six-year buyback option.
Since Renault’s departure, its former plant in Moscow has been used to produce vehicles under the revived Soviet-era brand “Moskvich,” many of which are based on Chinese designs.
Earlier, Ukraine signed a long-term cooperation deal with Swift Beat, a covert US drone company owned by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, to supply AI-enabled UAVs. The agreement—finalized in Denmark in Zelenskyy’s presence—aims to deliver hundreds of thousands of drones, with Schmidt’s firm reportedly linked to the White Stork project and structured to limit public visibility.
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