The Nestlé company insisted on Sunday that it does not make profits in Russia after Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky accused the Swiss giant of continuing to do business as before the conflict.
In a speech broadcast live before the Swiss Parliament in Bern on Saturday, Zelensky urged Swiss companies to stop doing business in Russia and condemned those that continue to do so despite the siege of Mariupol.
Specifically, he pointed to Nestlé, assuring that “business continues in Russia even though our children are dying and our cities are being destroyed.”
However, according to a Nestlé spokeswoman, many of the company’s activities in Russia have been curtailed, following the Kremlin-ordered invasion of neighboring Ukraine on February 24.
“We have considerably reduced our activities in Russia,” the spokeswoman told AFP.
“We have suspended all imports and exports except those of vital products. We have stopped all our investments there and we have stopped all our advertising activities,” he said.
According to the spokeswoman, “the fact that we supply essential food to the population, like other companies in the food sector, does not mean that we simply continue our activities as before.”
Nestlé announced on March 11 the suspension of the delivery of certain products to Russia, including Nespresso. However, some basic necessities, such as baby food and cereals, were exempted.
