McDonald’s has announced that it will sell all 850 of its restaurants in Russia, more than three decades after it opened its first store in the country.
The global fast-food giant cited the suffering caused by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as the reason for the move.
It had been in the country for more than 30 years and was a potent symbol of the spread of capitalism to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s CEO, said “it is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine”.
“And it is impossible to imagine the Golden Arches representing the same hope and promise that led us to enter the Russian market 32 years ago,” he added.
The Chicago-based firm said in early March that it was closing its Russian outlets but would pay its employees. But now it is looking for a Russian buyer to hire its staff.
The “dedication and loyalty” of its workers and its suppliers in Russia made the decision to sell its Russian business a difficult one, Mr Kempczinski said.
The company has indicated that it will begin to remove its golden arches and signs in the country.
McDonald’s decision comes after other large firms like the British energy companies Shell and BP left Russia over concerns about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory on 24 February, thousands of civilians have been killed and more than 6 million others have fled Ukraine.
