On Wednesday, TASS news agency reported that this past January, US software and network equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems destroyed more than $20 million worth of its inventory in Russia. The company had formally exited the nation last year due to sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.

According to company accounting statements viewed by TASS, which were published on March 31st, the company had spare parts, “other property, including the IT equipment itself,” vehicles, office furniture, appliances, and demonstration equipment all destroyed.

The documents noted, “Inventories were physically destroyed in January 2023, and in connection with this, as of December 31, 2022, the entire cost of inventories – 1,864,002 thousand rubles [$23.4 million] – was accrued with a depreciation provision.”

According to the company’s financial report, in the course of terminating most of its contracts with the firm’s Russia-based workers, Cisco paid out 190.6 million rubles ($2.3 million), in mandatory contributions and payments.

Cisco had announced it would withdraw from Russia in June of 2022, due to the conflict in Ukraine. The company said it made the decision to destroy its stocks in August, due to the termination of all sales, the suspension of licenses in the country, and its inability to re-export the items.

There had been reports the company might resume deliveries to Russia, using a Russian IT services company, IBS as a possible distributor within the nation. However IBS publicly stated there were no negotiations with the US company regarding such an arrangement.

Deputy Trade Minister Vasily Shpak said that in light of Cisco’s departure from the country, Western companies which departed Russia should not be allowed to easily return their operations to the country in the future.

He promoted Russian innovation producing domestically manufactured technology products, with Russian-designed and produced software, so as to make the nation more technologically independent, and less subject to Western technology-firms withdrawing their products in the future.