These American companies are refusing to cut ties with Russia

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United States Congress on Wednesday, he called on Americans to stop supporting businesses that continue to fund Vladimir Putin’s war machine as it continues to ravage Ukraine.

“All American companies must leave Russia. … Leave their market immediately, because it is flooded with our blood,” the president said, asking lawmakers “to make sure that the Russians do not receive a single penny that they use to destroy our people in Ukraine, the destruction of our country, the destruction of Europe. … Peace is more important than income."

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin first ordered the illegal invasion of Ukraine on February 24, some 400 U.S. and other multinational firms have followed Western governments in punishing Moscow economically and have since left Russia.

According to a study by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld at Yale University, oil and tech companies such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Apple, Facebook and Google were the first to leave Russia and were followed by major players like McDonalds, Starbucks and Coca-Cola.

There are, however, at least 33 multinational firms that are refusing to terminate or scale back their operations in Russia, Sonnenfeld warns.

“They are funding the Russian war machine, and they are undermining the whole idea of the sanctions," Sonnenfeld told the Washington Post. “The whole idea is to freeze up civil society, to get people out on the streets and outraged. They’re undermining an effective resolution” and increasing the likelihood of continued bloodshed.

According to Sonnenfeld, the brands whose parent companies are still doing business with Russia are surprisingly common and are often staples in every day American life. Some of these brands include: Aeropostale, ASUS laptops, Auntie Anne’s, Avon cosmetics, Brawny paper towels, Brooks Brothers, Carvel ice cream, Cinnabon, Diamond Crystal salt, Dixie cups, Eddie Bauer, Georgia-Pacific lumber, LG appliances, Mission tortillas, Pirelli tires, Quilted Northern paper, Reebok shoes, Truvia, and Vanity Fair napkins.

Other less visible firms are also choosing to stay in Putin’s Russia as he continues to ravage his southern neighbor including Koch Industries, Baker Tilly and Halliburton.  

Sonnenfeld also notes that upwards of 72 multinationals have only made partial pullbacks from the Russian market – a move he qualifies as “very questionable.” These firms include Dunkin Donuts, General Mills, Nabisco, Mars candy, Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott.

The list is updated daily and can be viewed on Sonnenfeld’s website.