Of the 49 Swedish firms that have pledged to exit Russia, just 9 have done so completely

Almost one year after the invasion of Ukraine, 61 Swedish companies remain tied to Russia, according to B4Ukraine and KSE Institute. These companies may be indirectly subsidizing Moscow’s war effort with their corporate taxes, wiping out the over €800 million (~$870 million) Swedish government is spending to support Ukraine.

Companies that remain tied to Russia earned $9,5 billion in 2021 and paid 380 million dollars to the Russian state in taxes the same year. They had 35,000 staff in the country prior to the invasion.

A minority (13%) of the Swedish companies that retain ties to Russia scaled back or suspended operations following the invasion, but have failed to commit to a full exit from the Russian market.

Of the 49 firms that have pledged to make an exit from the Russian market, just nine (18%) have done so completely. The nine Swedish companies that showed a clean break from the country are Bonava, Electrolux, Scania, SKF, Tetra Pak, Ferronordic, Lindab, Telia and NCAB Group.

Volvo Cars, Sweco, IKEA, Systemair, Sandvik and 35 other firms have pledged to exit the Russian market but have not followed through on their commitment to leave completely.

Consumer goods and clothing, pharma, healthcare firms have been leading among those 13 chosen to stay in Russia taking no steps to curtail activities: Essity, Alfa Laval, Marc O’Polo, Sveriges Aangfartygs Assurans Forening, Dynapac, Elekta, Embracer Group, Dometic Group, Lantmannen Unibake, Mercuri International, Metalock Engineering Group, Orient Products, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum.

Swedish companies operating in the automotive, electronics, construction & architecture, and consumer goods and clothing/FMCG industries have been the most dependent on Russia, with a revenue share of more than 5%.

B4Ukraine calls on the Swedish brands to put humanitarian values before profit and leave Russia, relocate production sites from the country, stop paying payroll and corporate taxes, and stop trade with Russia altogether to deprive its war machine of economic and financial resources.