Shipbuilder Damen Shipyards no longer supplies ships to Russia, fashion brands Zara, Pull&Bear and Bershka close more than 500 Russian branches and payment service Paypal no longer offers its services in Russia. They are the latest additions to a long list of names of companies that are partially or completely severing ties with Russia.
Meanwhile, dozens of companies have announced that they will partially withdraw from the country, such as the brewer Heineken, which no longer exports beer to Russia and no longer makes new investments. The company’s Russian breweries will continue to operate. Or Shell, which announced at the beginning of the week to divest its investments in Russia, and Samsung and Apple, which no longer want to supply products.
“The impact is huge,” says Jeroen Ketting. He is an entrepreneur and helps other Dutch entrepreneurs with doing business in Russia. “Apart from food, almost all goods with some added value are imported by Russia. Since the sanctions of 2014, Russia has been largely self-sufficient in food, but absolutely not technologically.”
Credibility
Some companies have been outspoken, such as Shell, which calls the war in Ukraine a senseless act of military aggression. Others say it is also not practical to trade with Russia now, for example because of the sanctions. “Moving money, people and goods is exceptionally difficult,” says Ketting.
–
