Russian wood still sold in U.S. a year into Ukraine war – including by a Wisconsin company – By Becky Jacobs (Appleton Post-Crescent) / Feb 24, 2023
EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin – More than a billion dollars worth of Russian “conflict timber” has been sold in the U.S. since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, and some of that plywood has been put up for sale by Menards, according to a report released Thursday.
“U.S. consumers will be horrified to discover they could be purchasing products bought from Russian oligarchs who are key allies of (Vladimir) Putin and whose cash helps prop up his regime,” said Sam Lawson, director of Earthsight, the London-based environmental group that published the report, in a statement.
More than 260,000 cubic meters of Russian “Baltic birch” plywood, with an estimated retail value of $1.2 billion, has landed in U.S. ports since the conflict, Earthsight says, citing customs records.
CONITNUE > https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/02/24/plywood-sold-menards-russia-war-ukraine/11339249002/