Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 631 US companies are still paying taxes, indirectly funding Russia’s military budget with their corporate taxes, according to B4Ukraine coalition and KSE Institute.
Only 28 American companies have fully pulled out of Russia.
In 2021, American companies provided jobs for 410,700 people in Russia and generated $67.8 bn in annual revenue. These companies controlled $51.5 bn in capital and $31.1 bn in assets.
Overall, more than 1,600 international firms are still operating in Russia, generating at least $171 billion of local revenue annually, approximately 10% of Russia’s GDP. They pay enough taxes to fund 50 percent of Russia’s military budget.
“At a time when Americans are donating what they can to support Ukrainians and their government is providing tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military and financial aid to defend Ukraine, American corporations are helping fund the Russian war effort. Nearly 9 months into the war, more than 600 American businesses continue to turn a profit in Russia and indirectly subsidize Putin’s war machine. Any company that prioritizes profit and Putin over the people of Ukraine must cut ties with Russia or be held to account,” said Bennett Freeman, former Senior VP for Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Investments and member of B4Ukraine steering committee.
Halliburton, PPG, Koch Industries, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are among the 28 American corporations that made a clean break from Russia. Just days ago they were joined by aluminum products maker Arconic, which on November 15 said it sold its Russian operations to a local company.
There are 334 companies, including Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, CNN, alcoholic beverages company Beam Suntory, and aluminum company Alcoa, which have announced plans to leave the Russian market but have not followed through on their commitment to leave.
Media and entertainment, alcohol and tobacco, and metals & mining sectors are the most reluctant to leave the Russian market. 145 companies, including Phillip Morris and Pyxus, have limited their activities, but remain active in Russia, continuing to fill the country’s war chest.
Remainers include law firm Baker McKenzie, media company Forbes and 150 other US companies.
B4Ukraine is a coalition of more than 30 civil society groups in Ukraine and around the world working to block access to the economic and financial resources enabling Russian aggression, which is an attack on the rules-based international order itself. B4Ukraine calls on the US brands to put humanitarian values before profit and leave Russia. Businesses must fully exit 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 until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored and accountability is imposed for war crimes and the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and property.