Global Corporate Joint Attack More Fearsome Than Missiles

Apple, Nike Halt Sales... Major Energy Companies Exit Russia
Entire Industry "No Deals with Russia"... Russian Oligarchs Also Oppose War

[Asia Economy reporters Kim Hyunjung and Park Byunghee] Not only governments but also companies around the world are launching a full-scale offensive against Russia, which invaded Ukraine. The use of economic power rather than military force to pressure an aggressor country marks a distinctly different pattern from past wars. As signs of the collapse of the Russian economy emerge, internal public opinion is also deteriorating, with oligarchs (Russian tycoons) voicing opposition to the war. Analysts suggest that Russian President Putin is increasingly isolated both domestically and internationally.

◆Apple and Nike also exit Russia= On the 1st (local time), Apple issued a statement announcing a complete halt to product sales in Russia in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, it restricted the Apple Pay payment service and blocked downloads of Russian media outlets RT News and Sputnik News from the App Store. On the same day, Nike also suspended online product sales within Russia, citing an inability to guarantee product delivery.

Earlier, as part of the Western punishment against Russia for invading Ukraine, access to the Russian central bank's foreign exchange reserves, amounting to $630 billion (approximately 752 trillion won), was restricted, and some Russian banks were expelled from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

Financial companies have unanimously joined these moves. Mastercard cut off payment networks with Russian financial institutions, and Visa announced on the 1st that it would block institutions and individuals on the Russian sanctions list from its payment network. Both companies stated that they are actively implementing additional sanctions in cooperation with regulatory authorities and have jointly established a $2 million humanitarian relief fund for Ukraine.

Major energy companies such as British Shell, British Petroleum (BP), Norwegian Equinor, and French TotalEnergies have also declared their exit from Russia. This mainly involves severing partnerships with Russian oil and gas companies and disposing of their equity holdings. U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil announced it would suspend operations and gradually withdraw from the Sakhalin-1 joint venture developing oil fields in Russia's Far East Sakhalin region.

Volvo and GM, which sell 12,000 vehicles annually in Russia, have also decided to halt exports to Russia. Subsequently, Ford, which holds a 50% stake in three Russian automobile plants in Saint Petersburg, Elabuga, and Naberezhnye Chelny, announced it would suspend operations in Russia until further notice. Ford also pledged to donate $100,000 to support Ukrainian refugees and their families.

MSC and Maersk, the world's first and second largest shipping companies, have temporarily suspended all shipping services at Russian ports in line with sanctions against Russia. Film companies Walt Disney and Sony Pictures also announced they would not release new films in Russian theaters. Warner Bros. canceled the Russian release of the film "The Batman," which was scheduled for this week.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google have also announced they will block Russian government and state media from advertising on their platforms and disable related monetization features, citing concerns that they could justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine or spread fake news.

On the 1st (local time), a vehicle reduced to a bare frame after a missile attack by Russian forces was left abandoned in the square in front of the city hall in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. On the sixth day since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces launched indiscriminate shelling and bombing mainly in the eastern city of Kharkiv, the capital Kyiv, and the southern city of Kherson, causing numerous civilian casualties.
[Photo by AFP]

◆Severe economic impact... Russian tycoons say "Stop the war"= According to CNN, the assets of Russia frozen by the United States and other Western countries are estimated to amount to a staggering $1 trillion (approximately 1,205 trillion won). Experts predict that Russia's economic activities will suffer serious disruptions due to Western sanctions. Oxford Economics in the UK forecasted that these sanctions could wipe out 6% of Russia's GDP.

On this day, Swiss authorities announced that Nord Stream 2 AG had gone bankrupt and laid off all 106 employees. This company owns the natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany. After the invasion of Ukraine, the German government announced an indefinite suspension of this project.

Russian emerging oligarchs, already pushed to the brink, are turning their backs on Putin. Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the British daily Evening Standard, sent an open letter to Putin on the front page of the Evening Standard on the 28th of last month. Lebedev pleaded for Putin to stop killing Ukraine's brothers and sisters. Andrey Yakunin, founder of private equity firm VIY Management, stated, "The Russian government and the Russian people are different," adding, "There are many Russians who strongly oppose Russia's current military actions, and I am one of them."

Mikhail Fridman, chairman and founder of Russia's Alfa Bank, criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an email sent to employees last week, saying it hurts both Russian and Ukrainian people. Oleg Deripaska, chairman of Rusal, Russia's largest aluminum producer, wrote on social media on the 27th of last month that peace is very important.