Nestle says it will continue to sell ‘essential’ products like Nesquik in Russia.
The food giant stressed that it is not making a profit from the operations after the Ukrainian President singled the company out for criticism.
Volodymyr Zelensky called out the Swiss firm over the weekend for continuing to do business in Vladimir Putin’s country, despite the invasion.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, also criticised bosses at Nestle for having ‘no understanding’ over the impact of staying in the Russian market.
Protesters in Australia also called on the firm to change course on Monday, accusing it on having ‘Ukrainian blood on your hands’.
Countless companies have pulled out of Russia with many governments sanctioning individuals and businesses there.
Earlier in March, Nestle stopped shipments of non-essential products, such as Nescafe pods, to Russia.
However, the company is continuing to sell a raft of items it considers essential, including baby food, nutrition products, pet food and cereals like Cheerios.
The group’s breakfast cereals business is part of a joint venture with US food group General Mills, covering about 120 countries, which last week said it was halting Russian investment.
A spokeswoman for Nestle said: ‘We have significantly scaled back our activities in Russia: we have stopped all imports and exports from Russia, except for essential products.
‘The fact that we, like other food companies, supply the population with important food does not mean that we simply continue as before.’
Nestle, which employs about 7,000 people in Russia, said it is no longer making investments or advertising in the country.
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, as Ukrainian cities face shortages of food, water, heat, and medicine – with thousands of British people opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon, despite reports that he is ‘growing paranoid’.
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- Ukraine says 112 children killed and even more wounded in war
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- How to house a Ukrainian refugee or family
- Where to buy a Ukraine ribbon pin
The company also stressed that it is pumping money into humanitarian causes linked to the conflict.
‘At the same time, we are doing whatever we can in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to help alleviate this humanitarian catastrophe,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘Our colleagues in Ukraine are doing everything they can to help the population with food donations.
‘We are still one of the few active food companies in Ukraine and sometimes even manage to distribute food in Kharkiv.’
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