Despite the great war and partial occupation, Zaporizhzhia region was at the second place as of the end of last year in terms of the number of registered businesses related to Russians. These are well-known industrial giants of the city, which lead to Russian oligarchs, and very small businesses such as service stations or online stores. We decided to investigate the situation in the region in order to understand, with the help of specific examples, what is the effect of numerous sanctions, which of the businesses associated with the Russians have already gone into state ownership, and which continue operating.

Russian business in Zaporizhzhia decreased, but it did not cease to exist. Some companies simply continue to work, some have probably formally changed owners to people with passports of European countries, some continue to exist except in state registers, and some have ceased operations and lost assets.

The latest polls show that three quarters of Russians support the war in Ukraine. This means that Ukraine could strengthen sanctions and pay more attention to companies owned by those allegedly not involved in the military aggression of Russian citizens, while at the same time strengthening control over the “overwriting” of Russian business to other, formal owners.