German Companies Help Russia Rebuild Occupied Territory

At least two German companies have supplied building materials for reconstruction of the Russia-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, an investigation by German television program Monitor reported on April 4.

Once home to more than 400,000 Ukrainians, Mariupol was destroyed in 2022 by the invading Russians, who killed at least 8,000 Ukrainians in the process. Russian President Vladimir Putin has since started reconstruction of the city, which is one of his primary goals in the war.

German companies: Investigators found building materials labeled with the German company name Knauf across construction sites in Mariupol. The company’s leader, Nicolas Knauf, served as honorary consul for Russia for over two decades and boasts of his business connections to Russia. He said his company employs 4,000 people in Russia and generates billions in revenue.

Investigators also found concrete blocks from wkb Systems at numerous construction sites. The German company’s largest shareholder is Russian oligarch Viktor Budarin. Customs data shows wkb Systems has for years supplied concrete block factories to one of Budarin’s companies, the same company whose products Russia now uses in Mariupol.

German-Russian collusion: Germany has made a show of supporting Ukraine in the ongoing war, but the details show it is actually siding with Russia in notable ways.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has long warned of a secret plan being worked out between the two countries—one that will have terrible consequences for global stability.

Learn more: Read “Germany’s Secret Deal With Russia—Exposed.”