On Thursday, Ukrainian media reported that Mondelez International, one of the biggest snack companies in the world, and the maker of Milka and Alpen Gold chocolate, Oreo and Barni biscuits, Picnic bars and Dirol chewing gum, has been labeled an enemy of Ukraine, due to the fact it has not yet ceased its operations within Russia.
The report noted that the Ukrainian National Corruption Prevention Agency (NCPA), had designated the company an “international sponsor of war,” in an attempt to “put pressure on those involved in the war.”
The Chicago-based company is one of the largest foreign companies still engaging in business within Russia. Within the Russian market, it is the leading supplier of chocolate, sweets, and biscuits, and it is ranked number two in chewing gum and lollipops.
The CEO of the company, Dirk Van De Put, had said in March of 2022, that the company would be “scaling back all non-essential activities in Russia while helping maintain continuity of the food supply during the challenging times ahead.”
The Ukrainians pointed out that in 2022, the company’s Russian subsidiary paid over $61 million in taxes to the Russian government. Mondelez has three major production facilities in the nation, with 3,200 employees.
The Ukrainians claimed the “company continues to promote its products in Russia and import new products to this market” and that by doing this it is contributing to the Russian war effort.
The maker of the Oreo cookie, in being branded an enemy of Ukraine, will join other such companies, such as Raiffeisen Bank International, Auchan, Metro, Procter & Gamble, Bonduelle, Leroy Merlin, Xiaomi and many others.
