Vladimir Putin seizes control of Carlsberg’s shares in Russia in fresh power grab

Owned by Carlsberg, Baltika is a leading brewing company in Russia, constituting approximately 30 per cent of the market share.

French yoghurt maker is French yoghurt maker is reported to be reviewing its legal options after the Russian state took control of its subsidiary.

Danone said it was “preparing to take all necessary measures to protect its rights as a shareholder of Danone Russia, and the continuity of the operations of the business in the interest of all stakeholders, in particular its employees”.

Sources say the company has been in touch with French President Emmanuel Macron and is preparing to write a letter to the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, Carlsberg had made public in March its intentions to sell the entirety of its Baltika arm, which employs 8,400 people.

Last month, the multinational announced that it had found an unnamed buyer for the business, over a year after it had pledged to exit the market due to the conflict in Ukraine.

In a statement, Carlsberg said: “Following the presidential decree, the prospects for this sales process are now highly uncertain.

“The Carlsberg Group has not received any official information from the Russian authorities regarding the presidential decree or the consequences for Baltika Breweries.”

It comes after Germany’s Uniper and Finland’s Fortum were taken under Russian state control in April.

Danone Russia had also previously stated it would give up its dairy and plant-based business in Russia, retaining only its infant nutritional branch.

The French company said last October that it was actively seeking a buyer for its dairy food business in Russia, in a deal that could lead to a write-off of up to €1bn (£860m).

One of few multinationals to have remained in Russia since the Ukraine offensive began, the firm previously defended its decision to continue operations in Russia by saying it had “a responsibility to the people we feed”.

Addressing its decision to stay in Russia last year, chief executive Antoine de Saint-Affrique said it was “very easy to get drawn into black-and-white thinking and demagogic positions, but in the end our reputation is about our behaviour”.

It comes following reports that Ukraine ‘used water-based drones’ to carry out a deadly attack on the bridge that links the Russian occupied peninsula of Crimea to the mainland.

A source in Ukraine’s security service has claimed responsibility for the Monday morning attack, also alleging that the sabotage involved ‘direct participation’ of American and British intelligence.

In retaliation, Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has officially confirmed that Russia will not be agreeing to extend the Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire tonight.

The deal previously allowed cargo ships to pass through the Black Sea from the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.

In response, President Zelensky said: "We are not afraid. We were approached by companies who own vessels and they're willing to continue shipping grain if Ukraine agrees to let them in and Turkey - to pass them through.”

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A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The UK condemns Russia’s blatant attempt to harm the most vulnerable as part of its illegal war.

“Russia must renew the BSGI [Black Sea grain initiative] and commit to its full implementation."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he “deeply regrets” Russia's decision, warning that it will be the “hundreds of millions of people” who face hunger that “will pay the price.”

The Russian President has long raised concerns that elements of the agreement that permitted the export of Russian food and fertilisers had not been honoured, especially with regard to supplying grain to poorer countries.

Russia’s foreign ministry have accused the West of “open sabotage” and of “selfishly” putting its commercial interests ahead of humanitarian aid.