Death and destruction, rage, despair, displacement and in many parts of the Western world, a fair amount of bewilderment and massive counter-reactions - these are the current impressions of the completely escalated conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
At this point, I would like to leave the political and historical classification to the respective experts. Foundry-Planet has been reporting for years from all markets of the world for the foundry industry, also from Russia and Ukraine. We will continue to uphold the idea that stable political conditions can be derived from good economic relations between countries and cultures, because it has proven to be fundamentally correct in Europe over decades.
Now, the largest parts of the international community have unanimously judged Russia's actions in Ukraine to be intolerable and have introduced massive sanctions against Russia and its leaders. The first changes and economic upheavals are already becoming apparent and naturally also affect our industry.
Daimler Truck stops cooperation with Russian KAMAZ
As the renowned German business newspaper "Handelsblatt" reports Daimler Truck stops cooperation with Russian armoured car manufacturer Kamaz.
After heavy criticism, the truck maker freezes all activities with Kamaz. The carmaker Mercedes is also expected to divest its stake in Kamaz. After almost twelve years of cooperation, Daimler Truck is putting all activities with the Russian vehicle manufacturer Kamaz on ice. As a result of the Ukraine war, not a single truck will be built in the joint venture "DK RUS" and no more components will be supplied to Kamaz.
The world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer is thus reacting to sharp criticism of the alliance with the Russians. After all, Kamaz is not only the leading manufacturer of trucks and buses in Russia, but has also been equipping the country's military with armoured vehicles weighing several tonnes for years.
This example alone shows that the established economic relations are now being put to the test. As we are informed from machine builders who supply Russian foundries, we hear of cancellations and postponed orders.
This is probably only the beginning and proves the complete confusion and insanity of the situation.
It is to be hoped that diplomacy will quickly return to the limelight and that the suffering of the people affected on both sides of the front will soon be alleviated.
It is to be feared, however, that the loss of trust and the distortions will not be healed as soon as possible. The industry will have to face and open up to completely new challenges and markets. The industry can do this, it has proven it time and again.
Hope dies last, but this time it will be really hard and it hurts.
