Ukraine calls for boycott of French retailer Auchan for refusing to shut Russia operations

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba, on Sunday, has called for a global boycott of French retailer Auchan and other brands like sporting goods chain Decathlon and home improvement brand Leroy Merlin over Russia's presence. The move comes as Auchan CEO, Yves Claude defended its decision to stay in Russia as 'human'. Taking to Twitter, Kuleba in response slammed the French multinational retail group by saying 'job losses in Russia' are more important than the 'loss of life' in Ukraine. 

Dmytro Kuleba tweeted, "Apparently, job losses in Russia are more important than the loss of life in Ukraine. If Auchan ignores 139 Ukrainian children murdered during this month of Russian invasion, let us ignore Auchan and all their products. Boycott @AUCHAN_France @alcampo @Leroymerlinfr @Decathlon."

According to Bloomberg, the head of the French grocery chain said that Auchan Retail leaving Russia and transferring its assets to a third party in the country would only reinforce the local financial ecosystem, and that this solution would not bring peace. Yves Claude, Chairman and CEO of the grocery brand told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview that Auchan's decision to remain in Russia is not driven by economic and financial reasons. He said that he expects the business in the country to be unprofitable this year.

The Bloomberg report suggests Russia generated 3.2 billion euros ($3.51 billion) in revenue last year, representing 10% of total revenue at Auchan Retail. All three brands have employed over 77,500 workers in Russia, while Auchan has a total of 6,000 employees in Ukraine, the report suggested. 

Claude's remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on French companies including Auchan to exit Russia, and accused them of sponsoring Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision of invading Ukraine. 

Ukraine intelligence says Russia may try to split country

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said that Russia could try to break Ukraine in two. Kyrylo Budanov said in remarks released by the Defense Ministry on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has realized “he can’t swallow the entire country” and would likely try to split the country under “the Korean scenario.” That's a reference to the decades-old division between North and South Korea.

Budanov said that “the occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine.” He pointed to Russian attempts to set up parallel government structures in occupied cities and to bar people from using the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia. Budanov predicted that Ukrainian resistance will grow into “total” guerrilla warfare, derailing Russia’s attempts.