The Russian "daughter" of the French supermarket chain "Auchan" has been supplying goods for the Russian military in the occupied territories since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This is according to a joint investigation by The Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat publications.
Supplies to the military were positioned as "humanitarian aid" and consisted of both goods from "Auchan" warehouses and goods collected by volunteers on the territory of "Auchan" stores in various regions of the country. In some regions, deliveries took place in direct cooperation with local authorities. In addition to supplying goods, "Auchan" helped military commissars to recruit mobilized personnel from among their employees.
Among the "humanitarian aid" goods are menʼs socks, cigarettes, lighters, toothpaste, razors. There are no products for women and children. Humanitarian aid was issued for 10 companies. The director of one of them admitted that the humanitarian aid was really intended for the Russian military.
Investigators write that "Auchan" involved not only its St. Petersburg stores in supplies for the occupiers. In other regions, aid was also collected on the territory of shopping centers owned by Aushan. So, for example, in Samara, Rybinsk, and Vladimir, "Auchan" stores housed collection points for "humanitarian aid for Donbas."
The Insider notes that "Auchan" also collected and transferred data about its employees to the military commissariats (and data on military tickets from employees began to be collected as early as January 2022) and then, after the announcement of mobilization, helped the military commissars to fulfill the norm: simply at the workplace employees were served summonses and offered to resign.
The Ukrainian "Auchan" is already demanding an explanation from the French office and is shocked by the journalistsʼ investigation about the assistance to the occupying forces from the Russian "Auchan".
"We urgently contacted the office in France. They deny this information. We are waiting for official communication," the statement said.