The CEO of Heineken has made a statement regarding its actions taken in response to Russia's war in Ukraine, halting production, advertising and sale in Russia of Heineken, its flagship beer brand.
Dolf van den Brink said, 'We are shocked and saddened to watch the tragedy in Ukraine unfold. We stand with the Ukrainian people and our hearts go out to all those affected.
'The Russian Government's war against Ukraine is an unprovoked and completely unjustified attack. In response to the continued escalation of the war, we are today announcing the following steps.
'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. This is in addition to the earlier announced stop on all new investments and exports to Russia.
van den Brink continued, '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 twenty years, our local employees have been valued members of the Heineken business. Supporting our employees and their families is a key principle as we define the path forward.'
van den Brink concluded, 'We will continue and further step up our support and donations to NGOs operating in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
'We are proud of our colleagues and local operating companies for their efforts to help people affected by the war who have fled to safety in neighbouring countries. We hope very much that a path to a peaceful outcome emerges in the near term.'
The company has yet to comment on the other brands it sells in Russia, such as Bulmers, Strongbow, Amstel, Solar Power, Birra Moretti , Newcastle Brown Ale, Miller, Dr Diesel and Edelweiss.