McDonald’s and Coca Cola close in Russia; US prohibits buying oil

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine has brought economic and technological sanctions for the Kremlin, decreed mainly by the United States and the European Union. The first package of sanctions announced by Washington and Brussels mainly affected the main companies, Russian elites, as well as the country’s exports and imports.

Now, the government of Joe Biden has gone a step further and together with his counterpart in the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, have announced a ban on the purchase of gas, coal and oil from Moscow. “We prohibit the importation of Russian oil, gas and energy. It is a movement that has the support of the entire congress. The United States produces much more oil than all the European countries combined. We are working to reduce dependence on Russian energy, And it’s a step we’re taking to inflict more damage on Putin,” Biden said.

As specified by the leader of the North American Executive, the United States applies in this way the “most significant” package of measures for Russia, with regard to the influence of these measures on the economy of the country presided over by Vladimir Putin. “We are cutting off access to technology, to semiconductors, which will affect your military in the coming years,” argued the US president.

On the other hand, Biden explained that these sanctions applied to Russia also have their effects on the US economy. “The price of gasoline has risen five cents. OPEC is going to release 80 million barrels of its reserves, 30 of them from the US. We will not tolerate excessive price increases“, he claimed.

At the end of his appearance, Biden announced that he will ask Congress to approve a $1.2 billion aid package for Ukraine. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin. He can control a city, but never the whole country. We will support the Ukrainian people against tyranny,” she said.

This announcement by Joe Biden comes hours after the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, warned Europe of the need to stop depending on Russian gas, on which several European countries depend, including Germany. This decision was also announced by Boris Johnson in a joint appearance in London with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his counterpart in the Netherlands, Mark Rutte.

“We must do it all together”

Johnson assured that all countries must follow the same line, although he warned of the need to have sufficient guarantees to make the change. “The general view is that we should move away from Russian hydrocarbons. We must do it all together, but we have to make sure that there is enough supply to replace it, “he said. For his part, Rutte said that “dependence on Russian gas must be dramatically reduced.

This announcement was made by Boris Johnson together with detailed information on the investment of 175 million pounds, that is, about 209 million euros that Downing Street allocated to Ukraine to be distributed for humanitarian aid and self-defense of the Ukrainian country.

McDonald’s and Coca Cola close in Russia

Added to the news of the veto on Russian energy imports is the closure of McDonald’s throughout the Russian territory. The fast food restaurant chain temporarily closes its 850 establishments in Russia. Until now, the North American company was, together with Danone and CocaCola, the only companies that have decided not to leave the Russian country after the Russian offensive in Ukraine that began on February 24.

Hours later this was no longer the case, because Coca Cola also announced that it was suspending all activity in Russian territory. In an official statement, the company stated: “Our hearts they stand with the people who are suffering the harsh effects of these tragic events in Ukraine. We will continue to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve.” Starbucks, the large coffee multinational, has also left Russia.

Partial expulsion from the SWIFT system, and mass exodus of companies

The decision to cut ties with the Kremlin for gas imports represents a new setback for the Russian economy, previously affected by the partial disconnection of the sistema SWIFT by the European Union, and the freezing of assets of the Russian Central Bank in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canadawhich has led to the prohibition of all kinds of global transactions with the main economic reserve of the country.

To this is added the exodus of many companies of all kinds of the Russian country. Among them, some of the most important in their sectors, such as Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Warner Bros, Netflix, Paramountor the companies of the so-called ‘Big Four’, in which the consultants PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte are found.

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