Chicken kiev renamed kyiv by Sainsbury’s after Russia’s attack on Ukraine
4 March 2022, 17:34
The business said it would stop selling Russian products while JD Sports is pulling out of the country.
Sainsbury’s is renaming chicken kievs to match the Ukrainian spelling of the capital city, in the wake of the Russian invasion, while John Lewis and Waitrose are removing Russian products from shelves.
Meanwhile advertising giant WPP said it would withdraw from the country where it employs 1,400 people, and Sports Direct also pulled out of Russia.
The supermarket chain said it would start rolling out new packaging in the coming weeks using chicken kyiv, rather than the Russian spelling kiev.
It will also stop selling all products that are sourced purely from Russia – Russian standard vodka and Karpayskiye black sunflower seeds.
Waitrose also said that it will remove a Russian vodka from its shelves while John Lewis will no longer sell a line of pizza oven pellets which it sources from the country.
The John Lewis Partnership, which includes Waitrose, added: “We’re working with our suppliers to review products that have components of Russian origin and will be seeking to mitigate further exposure to the region.”
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin last week launched a full-scale and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The attack has led to biting sanctions from Europe, the US and others, and western companies are withdrawing en masse from Russia in response.
“We stand united with the people of Ukraine. We have reviewed our product range and have decided to remove from sale all products that are 100% sourced from Russia,” Sainsbury’s said.
On Friday JD Sports also announced plans to withdraw from Russia, following other clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.
The move is largely symbolic as the business only makes 0.05% of its sales in Russia through its website and wholesale partners.
It also has no sites or employees in either Russia or Ukraine.
“Everyone at JD is shocked and deeply concerned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expresses the utmost sympathy for all Ukrainians,” the company said.
It added: “The conflict in Ukraine continues to generate grave concern and we look forward to reconciliation and the return to peace within the region.”
But for WPP the move is far from symbolic, the business employs 1,400 people in Russia and 200 in Ukraine.
It said that it “deeply regret(s)” the impact on its Russian staff, but added that “WPP’s ongoing presence in Russia would be inconsistent with our values as a company, and we are therefore discontinuing our operations in the country.”
