Pressure mounts for multinationals in Russia to leave

As the war in Ukraine drags on, international companies still in Russia are coming under increasing pressure to leave. In an address to Congress Wednesday, he asked lawmakers to press U.S. businesses still operating in Russia to leave, saying the Russian market is “flooded with our blood.” “Make sure that the Russians do not receive a single penny that they use to destroy our people in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “Doing so would only put our employees there at greater risk and do more harm than good.” Major European and U.S. consumer-goods companies like Unilever, PepsiCo and Nestle say they are scaling back business to focus on essentials, but haven’t exited Russia. But Mars will continue to sell pet food and food, saying it has an “essential role in feeding the Russian people and pets.” Profits from the Russia business will go to humanitarian causes. The Austrian bank Raiffeisen said Thursday that it is “assessing all strategic options for the future of Raiffeisenbank Russia, up to and including a carefully managed exit.” Multinational companies have to weigh their desire for operations in Russia when, or if, the war is over with the potential hit to their reputations and harm their business in larger Western markets.