As of July 7, 2025, 503 global firms have completely pulled out of Russia by selling or liquidating their business, according to the Kyiv School of Economics. This figure represents disappointingly slow progress more than three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and amid tens of thousands of documented war crimes.
The majority (55% or 2,322) of international companies with ties to Russia at the start of 2022 continue to do business within the aggressor state. 1,372 have officially declared that they are completely shutting down, or have announced they are temporarily reducing operations, according to KSE.
The most recent cases of clean exits include Sweden-based fashion retailer H&M, Japan’s electronics conglomerate Toshiba, and Austria’s steel and technology group Voestalpine, all of which liquidated their operations between May and June.
Additionally, five business sales took place: UK-based temporary power provider Aggreko, German paint and coatings brand Caparol, Canada-founded luxury hotel chain Four Seasons Hotels, Germany’s Muehlhan, a specialist in industrial surface protection, and Finland’s Purmo Group, a manufacturer of indoor climate solutions.
German facilities manager Apleona has once again been identified as a company still operating in Russia, after KSE discovered it had attempted to hide its ongoing ties by transferring ownership to a long-time employee in Egypt and renaming the company with a simple anagram.
The Russian government commission reviews dozens of applications from foreign companies to sell their Russian businesses each month, according to authorities.
These examples demonstrate that, despite the legitimate complexities of Russia’s current business and legal environment, a responsible corporate exit from the market of the aggressor state is still feasible. The least risky option is not to wait and see, but to exit immediately, write off the loss, and/or pursue international arbitration.