"We are shocked and saddened to watch the tragedy in Ukraine unfold. The Russian government's war against Ukraine is an unprovoked and completely unjustified attack," said Heineken CEO Dolf van den Brink in a statement.
He announced that the company would stop the production, advertising and sale of the Heineken brand in Russia.
Heineken employs 1,800 people in Russia, where it makes the Zhigulevskoe and Oxota brands for the local market. "We will take immediate steps to ring-fence our Russian business from the wider Heineken Company to stop the flow of monies, royalties and dividends out of Russia. Heineken will no longer accept any net financial benefit derived from our Russian operations," Van den Brink said.
The brewer had already previously halted all new investments into Russia as well as exports from other brands in the group.
"We are assessing the strategic options for the future of our Russian operations. We see a clear distinction between the actions of the government and our employees in Russia. For more than 20 years our local employees have been valuable members of the Heineken business. Supporting our employees and their families as we define the path forward," van den Brink said.
He added that it would step up its support and donations to NGOs operating in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
