Putin Decree Puts Metro AG's Russian Business Under Temporary State Administration

What happened

Russia has placed the entire Russian assets of German retail group Metro AG under "temporary administration" by presidential decree, published Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, transferring control to the Russian company UK Torg Rus, according to reporting by RFI and Kronen Zeitung. The decree, signed by President Vladimir Putin, gave no reasons for the move. Metro is one of the few large Western retailers that stayed in Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, citing responsibility for its staff and customers, and it still operates 91 stores in the country. On Monday, Metro's Russian subsidiary said operations continue normally and that all obligations to customers will be met; the company did not comment directly on the decree itself. The seizure is the latest in a series: less than two weeks earlier, Russia placed the Russian subsidiaries of Auchan, the former Leroy Merlin entity, and Nestlé under temporary administration, citing their ownership by "unfriendly" states supporting Ukraine.

The financial stakes for Metro are material but not existential. According to Metro's own results cited by RFI, Russia accounts for nearly 8.7% of total group sales, generating €2.14 billion in the first nine months of 2026. It is the group's fastest-growing segment, with sales up more than 10%, roughly a third of the group's total sales increase, helped by favorable exchange rates. The Russian subsidiary held cash and equivalents of €152 million as of June 30, 2026. Kronen Zeitung frames the decree as a political signal amid sharply strained relations between Moscow and Berlin over the Ukraine war, rather than a purely commercial measure.

Why it matters

The move extends a pattern that began after the 2022 invasion and has accelerated in recent weeks: Russia is asserting state control over the local operations of companies from countries it designates as "unfriendly." For Metro, the decree puts a business worth €2.14 billion in nine-month sales, and its fastest-growing segment, under the authority of an administrator appointed by the Russian state. The €152 million in cash held by the Russian subsidiary as of June 30, 2026 is now under that administration as well, and the company's ability to repatriate earnings or exit on its own terms is in question.

Metro's position is a particular case study in the risks of staying. When most large Western companies announced exits after February 2022, Metro chose to remain, publicly citing its responsibility toward its Russian staff and customers. That decision preserved a business that has since become the group's growth engine, contributing about a third of its total sales increase in the first nine months of 2026. The decree now shows the other side of that calculation: a company that stayed exposed to exactly the state action that departing firms avoided, with 91 stores and their revenues passing to an administrator appointed by decree rather than to any buyer of Metro's choosing.

The timing carries diplomatic weight. Over the weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, with Lavrov saying afterward that he gained no new insights from the encounter. Germany accuses Russia of an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport and responded by closing a Russian consulate and a cultural center in Berlin; Moscow denies the allegations. Kronen Zeitung reads the decree against that backdrop as a political signal to Berlin, arriving within days of a diplomatic exchange that produced no visible progress.

There is also a wider asset-conflict dimension. Several hundred billion euros of Russian assets remain frozen in Europe since 2022, which Russia denounces as illegal under international law and calls unfair competition, as RFI notes. The seizure of Metro's assets, following those of Auchan, Leroy Merlin's former entity, and Nestlé, gives Moscow further leverage in any future negotiation over frozen assets: each Western business taken under temporary administration is a claim Russia can set against the immobilized reserves held in Europe. The two-week gap between the Auchan, Leroy Merlin, and Nestlé actions and the Metro decree suggests a deliberate sequence rather than isolated cases, and the stated rationale, ownership by "unfriendly" states supporting Ukraine, is one that applies to most remaining Western companies still operating in Russia. For those firms, the decree is a data point on how quickly a functioning, profitable local business can be converted into state-administered assets without compensation, and on how little the commercial conduct of the company, in Metro's case continued operation and stated commitment to customers, weighs in the decision.

How it is being covered

The story is widely carried, with 98 sources covering it according to ground.news, split 34% left, 30% centre, and 36% right. Of the 47 outlets rated for factuality, 39 are rated high or very high, with one rated very low, one low, and six mixed. Ground.news flags no blindspot, meaning no significant partisan segment is ignoring the story.

What to watch

Watch whether Metro AG issues a formal statement beyond its Russian subsidiary's assurance that operations continue normally, and whether the German government responds at the level of trade measures or diplomatic protest. Watch also for further seizures: the Auchan, Leroy Merlin, and Nestlé actions came less than two weeks before this decree, and the pattern suggests more Western companies' Russian assets could follow. Any movement on the several hundred billion euros of Russian assets frozen in Europe, whether release, transfer, or further immobilization, is the likely counterweight Moscow is positioning against. Finally, watch Metro's next reporting date for how the group accounts for the Russian business, including whether the €2.14 billion nine-month sales figure and the €152 million cash position are reclassified or impaired.

By the numbers

Source snapshot