Strabag ‘shocked and appalled’ by invasion

Austria based contractor Strabag has issued a statement condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said it was “shocked and appalled” by recent events.

The contractor said speaking out was important and that it wanted to be transparent about its shareholder structure: almost 30% of its shares are held by Russian company MKAO Rasperia Trading Ltd, which is minority owned by Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska.

Strabag’s head office in Vienna. (Photo: Strabag.)

Strabag said that under Austrian law its board manages the company independently and “free of instructions from the supervisory board and company shareholders”.

The company has subsidiary businesses in both Russia and the Ukraine as well as operations in Poland and the Czech Republic.

“As a European construction company, we are just as shocked and appalled by the recent events in Eastern Europe as you and many others”, said the board.

“This war of aggression is not only in stark contradiction to everything we believe in, both morally and in terms of international law, it also hurts us personally that this will set back the European peace project by decades.

“To put it bluntly: Strabag strongly condemns this war of aggression by Russia on Ukraine and will support all initiatives that serve to help the people affected in Ukraine and restore the peace in the region.”

The company said its primary concern was for its colleagues affected by the hostilities. It has been working to bring family members of its staff to safety and has arranged shelter accommodation in Moldova through its partner organisation Concordia.

“We have deep roots in the countries where we operate and therefore want to help locally as well. We understand that aid efforts are already underway at our operations in Poland and the Czech Republic, providing supplies and transport where they are now most needed”, it said.

Strabag concluded; “Our immediate thoughts, however, are with all the people who currently find themselves in a precarious situation or even in mortal danger. Like you, we also hope for a swift de-escalation, an end to the fighting and a return to peace.”

Follow our running story here on developments on Ukraine related to construction.