Russia's list of 'unfriendly countries' extends to property, custody and debts

From foreign policy to domestic affairs

The status of 'unfriendly countries', formalized by a government decree in March 2022 as a retaliatory measure after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, covers the USA, the UK, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand and the EU member states. As Euronews notes, in the autumn of 2026 this mechanism went far beyond foreign economic policy and touches domestic courts, family law, property rights and financial obligations — down to individual people.

Economic measures and company assets

In the autumn the government nearly doubled import duties on alcohol from unfriendly countries — from 20% to 35%, which affects primarily European and North American producers. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the transfer of Russian assets of foreign companies into temporary management is directly linked to the inclusion of their countries in the list. The measure affected the Russian divisions of Nestlé, Auchan, FM Logistic, Leroy Merlin, Metro Cash & Carry, Tarkett and Japan Tobacco International.

Custody: the case of the girl from France

Russia's Supreme Court cited the unfriendly-country status in a custody dispute, ruling that returning the girl to France could contradict her interests, among other reasons, because France is on the list. According to the outlet, in March 2025 the Russian citizen Alexei Yermakov took his daughter, whose mother is the Ukrainian citizen Anna Tishkova, on a two-week trip to Turkey and Slovakia with her consent, and in April brought the child to Russia and obtained Russian citizenship for her. The court refused to order the girl's return to France, despite international agreements on returning children to their country of habitual residence.

Property, cars and debts

The State Duma backed a bill allowing cars stolen or illegally taken out of unfriendly countries to be registered in Russia. Supporters speak of legal gaps caused by the break in cooperation with Western states; opponents — of weakened property rights protection for owners from these countries. In a separate case, the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to register a car listed in the international database at Canada's request, ruling that inclusion in the international register of stolen cars is not in itself grounds for refusing registration.

New decrees and a departure from standard norms

In the autumn Putin signed a decree under which persons unable to prove citizenship of Russia or a friendly state, or to present a residence permit, are automatically considered to be from unfriendly countries. Another decree allows Russian debtors to withhold payments to creditors from unfriendly countries — a departure from the principle of equal treatment of the parties to a contract. The outlet emphasizes: international private law standards require courts to resolve contracts, custody and property disputes according to their legal substance regardless of the parties' citizenship or political status, and such use of a foreign-policy status diverges from the norms of conventions ratified by Russia, including the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which obliges states to return children taken across borders without consent.