Foreign companies in Russia paid at least $20bn (€17.2bn) in taxes in 2024 alone, and cumulative tax payments since early 2022 exceed $60bn (€51.8 bn), according to Euronews citing a joint report by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), B4Ukraine and the Squeezing Putin Initiative.

In particular, German companies have paid €1.7bn ($1.87bn) in taxes in Russia  to the Russian government since the start of the full‑scale invasion of Ukraine. 

As followed closely by bne IntelliNews,  23 international firms fully liquidated their Russian operations between July and September 2025, the highest quarterly total since 2022.

However, over two thirds of Western companies still operating in Russia have no plans to exit the market, citing long-term growth potential despite continued pressure from sanctions

The report cited by Euronews singles out Germany, noting that some 250 German companies continue to operate in Russia despite the war, representing more than half of the German firms present in the country before the invasion. 

Most of them work in fast‑moving consumer goods (FMCG), building materials, and other sectors not covered by direct sanctions. These include dairy‑product manufacturer Hochland Group still operating three plants in Russia, or building‑materials producer Knauf continuing to have operations there despite public scrutiny. 

The report stresses that about $60 bn collected since 2022 is roughly equivalent to half of Russia’s estimated defence budget for 2025. 

Beyond the tax‑flow issue, other risks include the supply‑chain links, spillovers from access to technology, and local investments that keep foreign firms embedded in the Russian market, all of which may indirectly bolster Russia’s war‑economy infrastructure.

Knauf Group denied and rejected accusations of supplying materials to Russia’s defence sector, but acknowledged the complexity of supervising downstream users. 

Euronews also reminds of the tougher exit regulations on foreign companies.

Namely, Hochland argues they cannot withdraw easily without harming employees or handing more control to the Russian state, invoking “responsibility toward our roughly 1,800 employees and their families” in Russia. 

As a reminder, a special government commission approves any foreign asset sale (at a minimum discount of 50%) and the government has set additional “exit taxes” for companies pulling out of Russia and their new local beneficiaries. 

In October 2024 Russia had put more strain on foreign companies still operating in the country and raised the “exit tax” from the current level of 15% of the market value of the assets to 35%. 

In addition, the minimum discount for such deals was increased to at least 60% from previous 50%, while deals worth more than RUB50bn have to be approved by the president in addition to approval by a special government commission on foreign investment.