2023年3月24日，莫斯科州一家 Leroy Merlin 建材超市前。
In front of a Leroy Merlin DIY store, in the Moscow region, March 24, 2023.
在 Leroy Merlin、Auchan、雀巢和 FM Logistic 的俄罗斯资产被没收两周后，弗拉基米尔·普京装作无辜。
Two weeks after the confiscation of the Russian assets of Leroy Merlin, Auchan, Nestlé, and FM Logistic, Vladimir Putin played the innocent.
俄罗斯总统于周四（10月1日）在瓦尔代政治论坛——他每年与俄罗斯精英举行的会议之一——上坚称：‘我们没有从任何人那里拿走任何东西，我们没有偷窃任何东西，也没有将任何东西国有化。’
"We are not taking anything from anyone, we are not stealing anything and we are not nationalizing anything," insisted the Russian president on Thursday, October 1, at the Valdai political forum, one of his annual meetings with Russian elites.
当克里姆林宫领导人表示西方公司的资产最终可能会归还给其所有者时，现场无人反驳。
No one in the room contradicted the Kremlin leader when he said the Western companies’ assets could eventually be returned to their owners.
实际上，这些资产以及德国零售集团 Metro 的资产（后者也已被没收）均成为9月17日克里姆林宫法令的针对对象，并被置于‘临时管理’之下。
In practice, these assets, targeted by a Kremlin decree on September 17, as well as those of the German retail group Metro, which have also since been confiscated, have been placed "under temporary administration."
它们被一家不知名的俄罗斯微型企业接管，这实际上是一家空壳公司，预计将在资产被克里姆林宫关系密切的集团收购前充当中介。在瓦尔代论坛上，普京对此只字未提。
They were taken over by an unknown Russian micro-enterprise, effectively a shell company that is expected to serve as an intermediary before the assets are acquired by groups close to the Kremlin. At Valdai, Putin did not mention this at all.
当被问及在与西方国家出现‘有利局势’时这些资产是否可能归还给原所有者，他回答：‘是的，他们会拿回去。’
When asked whether these assets could return to their original owners in the event of a "favorable scenario" with Western countries, he replied, "Yes, they will get them back."
然而，他并未说明何为这种‘有利局势’，这可能包括结束乌克兰战争——这一前景极不乐观。‘这全都是空洞的修辞。
However, he did not specify what he meant by this "favorable scenario," which could include an end to the war in Ukraine, a highly unlikely prospect. "All of this is just empty rhetoric.
随着和平谈判失败以及[唐纳德·特朗普的政党]在11月大选中可能落败，弗拉基米尔·普京现在感到更加自由。要加剧乌克兰战争。
With the failure of peace negotiations and the likely electoral defeat of [Donald Trump's party] in November, Vladimir Putin now feels even freer. To intensify the war in Ukraine.
并夺取欧洲在俄罗斯的资产，’一位熟悉俄罗斯商业圈的莫斯科消息人士警告说。
And to seize European assets in Russia," warned a source in Moscow with close knowledge of the country's business circles.