The Kremlin wants to use an American company to supply canned goods to its army - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
Russia plans to use the nationalized "Glavprodukt" to supply the army. The company was seized from a businessman accused of embezzling funds.
The American canned goods manufacturer "Glavprodukt", nationalized by the Kremlin, wants to be used to supply food to the Russian army. This could jeopardize the warming of relations between Moscow and the United States, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
While the US and the Kremlin are negotiating an end to the war against Ukraine, the canned goods manufacturer "Glavprodukt", the only American company taken under state control, has come under fire.
Currently, "Glavprodukt" is under the control of "Rosmaino", as it was seized from Leonid Smirnov, who lives in Los Angeles. The Russian prosecutor's office accused Smirnov and his controlled companies of withdrawing about $17 million from Russia between 2022 and 2024.
According to a letter from the new management of "Glavprodukt" to the Prosecutor General of Russia, the seizure was necessary to ensure stable production, in particular for future supplies to the National Guard and the Ministry of Defense.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the consideration of the nationalization of "Glavprodukt" will be part of the conversation about resetting relations between the US and Russia.
Who runs Glavprodukt
"Rosmaino" appointed a new general director of "Glavprodukt" at the request of the food producer "Druzhba Narodov". According to a 2018 press release, it was "Druzhba Narodov" that was the sole supplier to the Russian National Guard in 2019-2020.
An investigation conducted in 2018 by the Anti-Corruption Foundation of the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny showed that then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree in 2017 that "Druzhba Narodov" became the sole supplier of the National Guard.
At the same time, it is reported that "Glavprodukt" has never made deliveries to the Russian army before.
Information about the owners of "Druzhba Narodov" is classified, but in 2022 it became known that structures associated with the agro-holding "Agrocomplex named after Tkachev" acquired "Druzhba Narodov".
According to the company's independent audit reports for 2025, the ultimate owner of the holding is Alexander Tkachev, the former Minister of Agriculture of Russia, who was sanctioned by the EU back in 2014 for his support of Russia's occupation of Crimea. Apparently, he is the chairman of the board of directors of the holding company.
Addition
The Kremlin is offering cooperation to American companies in the occupied territories of Ukraine in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Moscow is also using IAEA to legitimize control over the occupied territories.
