/ 11 March 2022

Breakdown: The companies that have exited Russia

Apple Suspends All Product Sales In Russia
A photo shows a warning sign on the website of Apple in Moscow, Russia. Apple announced it has stopped selling all of its products in Russia. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

More than 300 companies have pulled out of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago.  

The Yale School of Management penned a list of companies that have suspended operations in Russia, as well as those that remain. 

BP and Shell both have announced their exit from Russia in protest of the military action against Ukraine. 

On Tuesday, Apple announced it would halt all product sales in Russia

In the consumer goods and retail sector, Unilever — which owns brands like Dove and Handy Andy — suspended imports and exports to Russia. Clothing retailers H&M, Nike and Adidas have paused sales. 

In financial services, the big four accounting firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — have pulled out of the country. The Bank of China — which is state-owned and based in Beijing— is curtailing Russian access to capital. 

Food retailers McDonald’s, Starbucks, and PepsiCo either said they were closing temporarily or would continue producing only certain products, such as baby food. 

In the media sector, Netflix suspended its service, while Walt Disney and Warner Bros paused the release of movies. 

In the automotive industry, Ford suspended its operations in Russia; meanwhile, Volkswagen stopped production of vehicles in the country and suspended exports to the Russian market. Toyota said it would stop making cars in Russia or importing them into the country. 

Some companies have, however, decided to remain in the country.  

Burger King, which has more than 800 franchise locations, has chosen to remain. Dunkin Donuts has at least 150 stores in Russia and has also chosen to remain.  

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on imports of Russian oil and gas in the latest move to stop the invasion. 

“The SStates is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy,” Biden said

In 2020, Russia was the 11th-largest economy in the world, with its economic output measured at $1.46-trillion.  

Russia’s GDP is primarily made up of three sectors — agriculture, industrial, and services. The biggest contributors are industrial (mining and construction) and services (financial services and communications), which make up 30% and 56.3%, respectively. The agricultural sector contributes less than 4%. 

More than a million refugees fled Ukraine in the first seven days of the invasion. This week, the UN announced that over two million had fled. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has called the first seven days of fleeing the fastest exodus of people this century.

As of 9 March, according to database platform Statista, there were 549 verified civilian deaths in Ukraine as a result of the invasion. Of this number, 41 were children. Some 957  people were reported to have been wounded. 

Anathi Madubela is an Adamela Trust business reporter at the M&G.