War in Ukraine: The Companies That Have Left Russia

If you have been paying attention to the economic news in recent weeks, you have surely begun to hear a significant number of international companies that have ceased operations, have withdrawn from or suspended their activities in Russia. This, after the Eurasian giant, has started a "military operation" (as they have wanted to catalog from the Kremlin) in Ukraine. However, most of the international community dismisses it as a clear war and invasion.

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Banking services

One of the news that will most complicate the daily lives of Russians will be the departure of American Express, Visa and Mastercard. Credit card providers announced their departure from the country, which will not allow the issuance of new cards and those currently issued by Russian banks will continue to work until the date of issue.
Another sanction that affected Russia was the exclusion of several Russian banks from the Swift system. This system, which is actually called the Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is almost like the nervous system of international banking and uses codes necessary to carry out any type of international transaction.

Food and drinks

Among the international chains that have left Russia, companies dedicated to food and meals stand out. Among the most recognized are Coca-Cola and the PepsiCo company.
For their part, McDonalds, Stabucks, Burger King, Starbucks and Papa Jhons announced that they will close all their stores and their administrative part in the country.

According to Statista , McDonalds and Burger King are the 4th and 5th largest food chains in Russia. The first with 815 stores and the second with 729. Starbucks, despite not appearing among the chains with the largest number of stores, will close its 130 franchises, according to Nation's Restaurant News .

For its part, Subway will continue to operate with its 450 franchises (7 in Russia), but will donate all its profits to finance humanitarian aid. Domino's took the same measure. This is due to the fact that most restaurants are sub-franchises, and legally they will not be able to close. Likewise, the French Danone, the largest yogurt and dairy firm in the world, announced that it will continue to sell its products, but will not invest more money in the country.

Technology and Communications

Amazon, the giant owned by Jeff Bezos, also joined the Boycott and announced that it has blocked new access to its cloud servers in both Russia and Belarus.
Additionally, the Mickey Mouse company also announced that it will "pause" its business in Putin's country. This means that it will no longer operate its cruise line, television channels, National Geographic magazine, productions and content licenses. Additionally, Netflix also suspended its services in Russia.

Fashion

Several clothing companies have also announced their decision to leave Russia. Among them are H&M and Zara, as well as Uniqlo

Media

Additionally, several international news agencies reported that they will leave Russia. Agencies such as EFE, the BBC, El País de España, CNN, among other international media.

This decision is due to a regulation recently approved in Russia which it allows to legally prosecute anyone who communicates false information. This, in the middle of a war, can be interpreted as any type of information against the Government and in favor of Ukraine and the West. This is why there are now very few foreign journalists working from Moscow.

Other companies

A multinational that also announced its exit from Russia is the Swedish IKEA. The company specializing in the sale of real estate and household items made the decision in solidarity with Ukraine. However, before its closure, thousands of Russians flocked to buy what they could from the stores.
The main reason given by all these companies and many others that have announced their departure from Russia is solidarity with the Ukrainian people. However, due to the sanctions, many companies will not be able to invest or recover the investment in Russia. Additionally, with the fall in the value of the ruble, profits will be less and less and it will become an underappreciated market.