In January 2025, only four international companies completed their exits from the Russian market by either selling or liquidating their assets, according to monitoring by the KSE Institute.
The most recent full exits include the Taiwanese container shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., the German automotive supplier Edscha, the French financial conglomerate Groupe BPCE (owner of Natixis Bank), and the Dutch maritime service provider Smit International.
As Bloomberg reports, in January, Vladimir Putin also allowed the US bank Goldman Sachs to sell its business in Russia, marking another full exit of a Western firm from the country.
This is the latest in a series of banking deals approved by the Russian dictator. In December, he signed a decree allowing France’s Natixis to sell its Russian business, and in January, Dutch bank ING also agreed to divest its operations.
These exits prove it’s never too late to leave. B4Ukraine calls on companies operating in any capacity in Russia to pull out in order to minimize contributions to the war economy, avoid complicity in human rights abuses, and align with international human rights obligations.
B4Ukraine also urges G7/EU governments to use all available means to urge companies to cut ties with Russia, including establishing clear standards for corporate conduct and introducing deterrent measures such as financial penalties, restriction to access to contracts and exclusion from public procurement opportunities for companies which continue doing business with Russia.