Soon after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, freight shipper Hellmann Worldwide Logistics informed staff at its Moscow business it was pulling out of Russia. Before the war, Hellmann's Moscow office had helped Russian industrial firms ship to Russia tools, parts and equipment from the West but, after the invasion, such shipments were heavily restricted by international sanctions. Instead, a Russian-registered firm called Heinrich Tapp Rus (HT Rus) - whose owners at the time included at least two former Hellmann employees - took over the relationship with many of Hellmann’s old clients.