| Advertisement |
March 2 (UPI) -- U.S. manufacturers Boeing and Ford and American multinational oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil have added their names to the growing list of companies that have ended or suspended their business in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. In a statement to UPI, Boeing confirmed that it has suspended its operations in Russia on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Impacted by the suspension will be the U.S. manufacture's Boeing Design Center in Moscow, which according to its website maintains round-the-clock global support with a team of 500 customer support members. It also employees engineers and other staff.
The company added that it will also be suspending technical support, including parts, maintenance and other such services, to Russian airlines.
"As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region," a Boeing spokesperson said.
Due to the conflict in Ukraine, it has temporarily closed its office in the capital city of Kyiv, it added.
Ford said in a statement Tuesday that it was indefinitely suspending its business in Russia effective immediately .
The U.S. car maker's only remaining business in Russia was a joint venture with Sollers, a Russian automotive company, where it focuses exclusively on commercial van manufacturing and Russian sales.
"As part of the global community, Ford is deeply concerned about the invasion of Ukraine and the resultant threats to peace and stability," Ford said. "The situation has compelled us to reassess our operations in Russia."
"While we don't have significant operations in Ukraine, we do have a strong contingent of Ukrainian nationals working at Ford around the world and we will continue to support them through this time," the company said, adding it would be making $100,000 donation to the Global Giving Ukraine Relief Fund for humanitarian aid to help those displaced by the war.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil followed Shell, BP and Norway's Equinor in announcing the shutting down of all its business in Russia.
In a statement on Tuesday, the U.S. gas company said it has begun the process to discontinue its operations and was taking steps to exit the Sakhalin-1 project it operates on behalf of an international consortium of Japanese, Indian and Russian companies.
The Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project is one of the largest in Russia, and was expected to generate over its lifetime more than $89 billion for Russia, according to the company. The project is estimated to have 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
"ExxonMobile supports the people of Ukraine as they seek to defend their freedom and determine their own future as a nation," the company said. "We deplore Russia's military action that violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine and endangers its people."
Western companies began pulling out of Russia after it invaded Ukraine last Thursday, prompting democratic nations to repeatedly level sanctions against Moscow.
