Amid President Donald Trump and his administration’s stepped-up pressure on Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have "remained silent about recent Russian strikes on American businesses in Ukraine." This is stated in a CNN report published on October 14, UNN writes.
Details
Over the past few months, the outlet writes, "russia has intensified its attacks on facilities linked to American corporations and on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in general."
According to Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones have damaged facilities belonging to some of the best-known American brands, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, and Oreo.
Although russia has tried to deter successful American businesses in the past, "we have not seen anything like this in recent months," Hunder told CNN.
"This is a direct strike by drones and missiles, and they continue attacking them. It sends a signal that they are targeting American businesses. We are not seeing any response from the White House," he said.
"We need this to stop because these are American interests, American money, American investors who are being hit and targeted," he noted.
When a Russian drone struck a Coca-Cola plant near Kyiv in early September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack was a "clear signal" to the United States.
A clear signal to the United States — Zelenskyy said Russia struck a Coca-Cola plant03.09.26, 21:10
Later that month, the Russians used a "strike drone" to destroy a warehouse used by McDonald’s, Zelenskyy said in a post on X. McDonald’s Ukraine confirmed in a statement that "a warehouse operated by one of our logistics partners in the Kyiv region was damaged as a result of a drone attack on September 25." McDonald’s Ukraine said that, as a result of the damage, its restaurants were offering a limited menu.
PepsiCo acknowledged in a statement at the end of August that a production facility in the Mykolaiv region had been damaged, but there were no casualties.
There is no consensus among American companies on the ground about how openly they want to speak publicly about having been struck, "or disclose the fact that they have repeatedly been targeted," a former senior U.S. State Department official told CNN.
"Some companies want us to raise this issue," Hunder reiterated, but others "are acting very cautiously."
However, several Democratic U.S. lawmakers have publicly called on the White House to do more to protect American businesses in Ukraine and condemn moscow’s actions. Ukraine has highlighted these attacks as another reason to increase defense support so that they can adequately protect American companies on the ground, the outlet notes.
The Chamber of Commerce meets with American lawmakers from both parties who visit Kyiv, and Hunder told CNN that they asked them to raise this issue with the White House.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke publicly when asked in August 2025 about a Russian strike on an American electronics plant, saying that he had told kremlin head vladimir putin that he was "not happy about it."
A White House official said that Trump "wants the war to end completely, so that the senseless killings stop."
"The President and his team remain committed to continuing to play a constructive role in ending the war between russia and Ukraine, and he remains optimistic that we will ultimately reach a peace agreement," the official said, asserting that the United States is the "only country in the world" that can "play a constructive role in talks with both sides, working to end the war."
Trump said that ending the war in Ukraine is drawing closer07.10.26, 07:31
Nevertheless, the Trump administration’s relative lack of condemnation of the strikes contrasts with its warnings to the Ukrainian government regarding strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure
As the publication notes, "in February, CNN reported that the administration had warned Kyiv that its strikes on a Russian oil facility in the Black Sea late last year had affected U.S. investments in Kazakhstan. In recent weeks, Trump has blamed Ukraine's strikes on Russian diesel facilities for rising fuel prices, which were caused by the war between the United States and Iran."
Last Friday, the publication notes, he announced a deal to lift sanctions and purchase diesel fuel from Russia, which violates U.S. law. "The United States also threatened to restrict intelligence sharing and ammunition supplies to Ukraine if Kyiv did not stop these strikes," CNN sources said.
Gunder told CNN that he finds it difficult to understand the administration's relative silence on this issue, especially given how much they portray themselves as supporters of American business.
"Any company, any business wants to have some kind of protection. You expect your government to take your side and fight alongside you, especially if it is foreign military forces attacking American companies," he said.
A former senior U.S. State Department official noted that "in 'official Washington,' many people believe that the only people who can speak about Ukraine are Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and if it is not one of those two, then we need to stay out of it." Thus, even drawing attention to attacks on American businesses is a challenge, the publication writes.
"The idea that you will get an explanation" as to why the United States remained silent about the attacks "is not something people can expect," they told CNN.
Gunder said that last month the American Chamber of Commerce sent a message requesting a meeting with Witkoff and Kushner to brief them on the state of American business in Ukraine, including the latest news about American businesses.
"We have not received any response to that," he said.