Philip Morris International (PMI) is cutting production and phasing out investments in Russia

The company announced that it will not introduce new products on the Russian market and that it will stop investing in trade, research and production.

Tobacco giant abandons investment in Russia

Jacek Olcak, CEO, said the company’s management was calling for an immediate end to the war. We are shocked by the war in Ukraine and we strongly condemn the violence. We express our solidarity with the innocent children, women and men who suffer in this conflict.

PMI has been in operation since 1994, also operating in Ukraine, and in 2021 was responsible for about 2 percent. Total supply of Philip Morris International cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The company has one factory and nearly 1,300 employees in Ukraine.

– Our priority is to take care of the safety and well-being of more than a thousand employees of Ukraine and their families. We have already managed to evacuate more than 800 people from there, including those who live in the most vulnerable areas, he said, adding that the company is providing assistance to both employees who are still in Ukraine and those who have left the country. The assistance is of a logistical, medical and financial nature.

US and EU sanctions

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and other Western countries have imposed a historic package of sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin, its allies, and the country’s largest banks. These measures are beginning to bear fruit, although analysts do not agree whether they will be effective enough to stop the aggression against Ukraine. They also point out that sanctions are a double-edged tool.

One of the main limitations is partial Separation of Russian banks from the SWIFT systemAs a result they cannot carry out international transactions.

As a result of the isolation of the Russian economy, the ruble fell to its lowest level in history on Monday, and the Central Bank of Moscow raised interest rates from 9.5 percent. to a record level of 20% to curb inflation.

To end the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible Last Thursday, the Russian oil company Lukoil resumed.

Russia is now the country with the largest number of sanctions in history. And he held the position of “leader” ahead of Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba.

Sanctions were imposed on Russia by many private companies, including large ones. For Moscow, this means recalling many products and services that were previously available to the public. Another idea is to limit the purchase of Russian products in stores. Several retail chains (including Biedronka and Carrefour in Poland) decided to remove products from Russia from their sales.

Read also:
Biden announced new sanctions against Russia