Kateryna Hirnyk20:58, 12.05.26

5 min.455

Since last summer, Russian attacks have targeted companies linked to Coca-Cola, Boeing, Mondelez, and Philip Morris.

Russia attacked the Coca-Cola plant several times / UNIAN collage, photo 
ua.depositphotos.com

Russia has begun targeting targets of major American companies in Ukraine, but the Trump administration is ignoring the attacks, The New York Times reports . The U.S. presence in Ukraine is small, at about 120 companies. However, major consumer brands such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, as well as all major U.S. grain traders, operate there.

According to the publication, since last summer, Russian strikes have targeted facilities associated with Coca-Cola, Boeing, snack maker Mondelez (brands Milka, Oreo, Toblerone, “Lux”), and tobacco giant Philip Morris. And in mid-April, seven drones in a row attacked a Cargill grain terminal.

The corporations have largely kept the attacks under wraps for fear of alarming investors and insurers. Some Ukrainian businesspeople say the attacks are part of a broader campaign targeting all types of assets, regardless of the nationality of the companies, with the aim of stifling the country’s economy. Others, however, believe Russia’s goal is to scare away American investment at a time when Kyiv is seeking to deepen business ties with the White House.

The US is ignoring what is happening

The White House, despite vowing to protect U.S. commercial interests abroad, has responded with restraint. The Trump administration has not condemned any of the attacks reported by Ukraine this year. At the same time, Washington has demanded that Kyiv refrain from striking a Russian Black Sea oil terminal that exports oil from Kazakh fields in which American companies have stakes.

In February, representatives of several American companies, including Coca-Cola, Cargill, and Bunge, another agricultural giant, held talks with a group of US senators who were in Ukraine.

“After listening to several of them, I realized that they believe they are being targeted deliberately,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in an interview.

Andy Hander, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, said the Russians are “launching these missiles and drones in hopes of stopping the flow of American business into Ukraine.”

The situation changed last summer.

“I don’t recall Russia deliberately attacking American businesses in Ukraine before 2025,” said Jim O’Brien, former US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

In mid-June, a strike damaged a Boeing factory in Kyiv. Two months later, Russian cruise missiles hit a plant owned by the American electronics manufacturer Flex Ltd., located in western Ukraine, hundreds of kilometers from the front line.

Perhaps the most symbolic attack, however, was the strike on the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Velyka Dymerka. As the NYT notes, the plant is hard to miss. The two water towers at its entrance are painted red and emblazoned with the company’s name in its signature white font. However, late last year, a Russian drone struck a power plant. A few months later, another drone was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses as it approached the power plant, and a third later hit a nearby solar power plant.

Since the start of the war in 2026, the attacks have only intensified. In just four weeks, the facilities of Bunge, Philip Morris, and Mondelez were attacked. At the same time, a number of Ukrainian businessmen noted that the increase in attacks on American companies occurred precisely at the moment when Ukraine began to deepen economic ties with the United States last year.

The strikes are designed to undermine this business-oriented approach, “making American factories, warehouses and offices places that pose an unacceptable risk,” said Oleksandr Romanyshyn, a former deputy economy minister.

Some public companies refuse to acknowledge the attacks, fearing that doing so might scare shareholders. Some continue to operate in Russia despite the war, further complicating the situation. And while Ukraine has reported some strikes, it has not made a big deal out of them, fearing that it would reinforce its image as a risky place to do business.

The USA and the war in Ukraine

Media reports say the US is trying to broker a temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia in exchange for easing sanctions against Moscow , and these efforts are already causing concern in Kyiv.

Sources familiar with the negotiations emphasize that this agreement is missing one element that Kyiv considers extremely important: security guarantees that would prevent a resumption of war by Russia.

(C)UNIAN 2026