WAR IN UKRAINE

Issued on:


A view shows a McDonald's restaurant in Saint Petersburg, Russia March 8, 2022.
A view shows a McDonald’s restaurant in Saint Petersburg, Russia March 8, 2022. © Anton Vaganov, Reuters

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Starbucks on Tuesday bowed to public pressure and suspended their operations in Russia over Moscow’s internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine. Several of these companies, symbols of American cultural influence in the world, have been the subject of boycott calls on social media as investors have also begun to ask questions about their presence. Follow our live blog for the day’s latest developments.

  • US President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of oil from Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The UK also said they would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year. 
  • The UN said the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 surged past 2 million.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “fight to the end” in a virtual speech to UK lawmakers that earned him a standing ovation. “We will not give up and we will not lose,” he said. 
  • Nearly 5,000 civilians from the northeastern Sumy region were evacuated via humanitarian corridors on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials. However, authorities were unable to evacuate people from the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol.
  • Thousands of people also fled the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on foot over a makeshift bridge as the fighting around the Ukrainian capital intensified.
  • Moscow has announced a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine for Wednesday morning from 10am local time (7am GMT), Russian news agencies reported. Moscow also proposed discussing the routes and other details of humanitarian corridors with Ukraine early Wednesday.
  • A second senior Russian commander was killed in the battlefield, according to Ukrainian military and intelligence officials. Russia has not commented on the report.
  • The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine surged past 2 million on Tuesday, according to the UN.
  • Energy giant Shell on Tuesday said it will stop purchasing Russian crude oil and shut down its operations in Ukraine. McDonald’s said it would temporarily close all of its 850 restaurants in Russia but would continue paying its 62,000 employees in the country.  Coffee giant Starbucks and Coca-Cola also said they were suspending all business activity in Russia. 

Follow our live updates below. If updates do not appear, please refresh the page.
© Studio graphique France Médias Monde

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP and AP)