MOSCOW (March 20): A Russian court on Monday froze all Volkswagen assets in Russia, court documents seen by Reuters showed.

Volkswagen was one of a string of foreign carmakers that suspended operations in Russia after western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian auto manufacturer GAZ, which was contracted to produce Volkswagen vehicles at its factory in Nizhny Novgorod, had sued the German carmaker for breach of contract after Volkswagen terminated the agreement in August.

GAZ estimated its losses from the terminated contract at almost 16 billion roubles (US$207.79 million).

Volkswagen is attempting to sell its flagship Russian factory in Kaluga, south of Moscow. The plant, which has a capacity of 225,000 vehicles a year, has been furloughed since March 2022.