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Beer giants Heineken and Carlsberg have announced they will withdraw from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Dutch brewer Heineken said the move would cost it around 400million Euros (£334m).
Meanwhile Danish firm Carlsberg made around 682 million kroner (£77m) in operating profit last year in Russia, where it employees 8,400 workers.
Carlsberg, which runs Russia’s largest brewer, Baltika, said it has yet to calculate the cost of pulling out.
But it expects to make a ‘substantial loss’ from its departure.
CEO Cees ‘t Hart said: ‘We deeply regret the consequences of this decision for our 8,400 employees in Russia.’
The company made the ‘difficult and immediate decision to seek a full disposal of our business in Russia, which we believe is the right thing to do in the current environment,’ he added.
Both Carlsberg and Heineken previously signalled their intentions to halt new investments and exports after Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine.
But today they confirmed they would exit Russia completely.
Heineken said it was very ‘shocked and very saddened’ to see the war in Ukraine ‘continuing and escalating’.
‘Following the previously announced strategic review of our operations, we have concluded that Heineken’s ownership of the business in Russia is no longer sustainable nor viable in the current environment,’ the company said in a statement.
‘As a result, we have decided to leave Russia.
‘We aim for an orderly transfer of our business to a new owner in full compliance with international and local laws.’
Heineken will continue with recent reduced operations during a transition period and said it will guarantee the salaries of 1,800 employees in Russia will be paid until the end of this year.
It hopes to ‘minimise’ the risk of the business being nationalised and says it will not profit from any sale deal.
‘We continue to hope that a path to a peaceful outcome emerges in the near term,’ the company added.
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Meanwhile Carlsberg said in a statement: ‘The war in Ukraine, and the escalating humanitarian and refugee crisis, shocks us all.
‘We continue to strongly condemn the Russian invasion, which has led to so much loss of life, devastation and human tragedy.
‘On March 9 we announced a strategic review of the Carlsberg Group’s presence in Russia.
‘Based on this review, we have taken the difficult and immediate decision to seek a full disposal of our business in Russia, which we believe is the right thing to do in the current environment.
‘Upon completion we will have no presence in Russia.’
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.
Millions of people have fled the country, with thousands of British people opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon, with his spokesperson claiming that he is refusing to rule out using nuclear weapons.
- Russian commander ‘killed himself after learning 90% of his tanks were useless’
- Russian rockets hit oil depots as Putin tries to starve Ukrainians of fuel
- Ukrainians ‘resort to drinking sewage water to try and stay alive’
- Joe Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’
- Russian general who said war would take hours is killed in Ukraine
- What is NATO and which countries are members?
- How to get tickets for Concert for Ukraine
- Where to buy a Ukraine ribbon pin
- What does Z mean for Russia?
It is a step further than many other big name brands which have temporarily turned their backs on Moscow in protest over the war.
McDonalds confirmed it is, for now, closing all of its 850 branches in Russia because it can’t ignore the ‘needless human suffering in Ukraine’.
Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co also said they were suspending all business activity in Russia.
Netflix, Xbox and Spotify have also joined the boycott, together with retailers including Ikea, Nike and H&M.
Sanctions have crippled the Russian economy, with the ‘catastrophic consequences’ forcing pensioners to fight for basic supplies including sugar.
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