Traces of the German groups Knauf and WKB Systems have been seen on the construction sites of Mariupol. Vladimir Putin wants to make it a showcase of the annexed Donbass.
Despite the war and sanctions, KnauF continues to employ 4,000 people in Russia. WKB systems' main shareholder is a Russian oligarch called Viktor Konstantinovitch Budarin. His company has been supplying the materials needed to build factories for several years. The company only produces in Russia “exclusively for the Russian market,” he says.