From Mercedes-Benz, Apple to Boeing, popular brands those halted sales in Russia

Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a full-fledged military operation against Ukraine, several nations and popular brands have imposed stringent sanctions on Moscow. The most powerful bloc, European Union, and the West have already imposed a series of sanctions on Russian companies including, banks, oligarchs and the close circle of Putin. Here is the list of companies that have temporarily halted sales and production in Russia in order to penalise Moscow for its actions against Ukraine:

Electronics and social media ban

A day after Apple announced to pause all product sales in Russia, its rival, Nokia, on Wednesday, echoed the same due to the ongoing military operation in Ukraine. According to a report by a Belarusian media outlet, Nexta TV, the Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology company will not deliver technological equipment required for cellular communications to Russia. The noteworthy decision from Nokia came a day after American tech giant Apple paused all product sales in Russia and has limited Apple Pay and other services in the country due to the military operation in Ukraine. "We have paused all product sales in Russia," the Russian News Agency Sputnik reported citing Apple's statement.

"Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia," read the statement. Earlier, Meta, Google, TikTok and YouTube have blocked Russian state-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik in Europe, Euronews reported. Apart from these, Oracle- One of the world's largest software developers, has suspended all operations in the country. A major manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, Ericsson, has suspended the delivery of goods to customers in Russia.

Automobile and aviation

Prominent carmakers including BMW, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and MAN decided to temporarily halt exports in the Russian markets until the next notice. American multinational automobile manufacturer, Ford has also suspended its activities in Moscow. Other major car manufacturers like Honda, Suzuki Mazda will not supply cars and motorcycles to the country while General Motors and Scania have announced to suspend vehicle deliveries. The same has been echoed by Nissan also. According to news agency TASS, Volkswagen Group has also halted shipments of cars that are already in the Russian Federation to Russian dealerships. Hyundai and Renault are suspending the assembly of cars at their Russian plants in St. Petersburg and Moscow, respectively, from March 5. 

The aerospace company Boeing announced the suspension of maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines. "We have suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv," the company said in a statement. "We are also suspending parts, maintenance and technical support for services for Russian airlines. As the conflict continues, our teams are focussed on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region," added Boeing in its statement.

Entertainment, clothing and furniture

American subscription streaming service and production company Netflix has stopped all forthcoming projects and investments in Russia citing invasion. Another major American multinational entertainment and media conglomerate, The Walt Disney Company has suspended screenings of their films, besides Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures who have echoed the same reason for their action against the Russian market. Sony Pictures Entertainment, a diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires and distributes filmed entertainment through multiple platforms has also halted upcoming theatrical releases until further notice. The Cannes Festival, which was earlier known as the International Film Festival until 2003, on Tuesday, said they would not allow Russian delegations to join the mega event this year due to the ongoing conflict.

Clothing and furniture

Swedish-founded, Dutch-headquartered multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, IKEA suspended its sales, as well as all exports and imports in Russia. Global retail chain of stores and webshop, JYSK has temporarily closed its stores in Russia. In the clothing sector, several major brands like Karl Lagerfeld, H&M and ASOS have temporarily suspended the sale of products within Russian territory. American footwear manufacturing company, Nike has echoed the same.

Sports

Apart from the clothing, entertainment and automobile sector, Russia has also been isolated in major sports events. Russian teams have been suspended from international soccer, whereas FIFA and UEFA have temporarily barred Russia’s national teams and clubs from joining mega football events. Moreover, International Olympic Committee (IOC) appealed to sports bodies to exclude the country’s athletes and officials from international events. It is worth mentioning that even the Russian sports icons have expressed their displeasure with Putin's provocative action against Ukraine. Recently, Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, during Dubai Championships, wrote “No War Please” on a TV camera.

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