Estonian DefMin, EDF drop sales of products still available in Russia
The Ministry of Defense has issued a directive ending the sale throughout its area of government, including all retail outlets on Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) territory, of products that continue to be available in Russia, the ministry announced Thursday.
"Many Western businesses have shut down their operations in Russia, but there are still those who support the Russian economy and, by extension, its war machine," explained Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform).
"I realize that the directive to discontinue the sale of products from PepsiCo, Mars, Nestle and other large corporations within the Defense Ministry's area of government may cause some discomfort, but there are alternatives to many of these products – even from Estonian manufacturers – and the higher purpose outweighs the minor inconvenience," Pevkur continued. "I trust that everyone understands why this matters – let's help Ukraine win."
The ministry's decision involves manufacturers the Ukrainian National Agency on Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has included on its list of International War Sponsors; Ukraine uses the list published on the War and Sanctions database site to push foreign companies operating in Russia to end their business activities there, thus stopping financing Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
In Estonia, this means in practice that vending machines, cafes and other sales outlets within the area of governance of Estonia's Ministry of Defense will no longer carry products from companies such as PepsiCo, Mars, Nestle, Unilever and Mondelez International, and including things like chocolate, cookies, chips, ice cream, chewing gum and soft drinks.
Products from tobacco companies Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) will be halted as well.
I ordered to remove from @MoD_Estonia and @Kaitsevagi all the products of the companies (PepsiCo, Mars, Nestle, Unilever, Mondelēz International, Philip Morris International, JTI etc), which are still active in and thereby support war machine against . @rustem_umerov
— Hanno Pevkur (@HPevkur) March 8, 2024
"We invite our partners to replace these products with equivalents where possible," said Kristo Raud, strategic category manager for infrastructure and services at the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (ECDI).
Contracting partners are being requested to remove the products in question from their product ranges within 60 days of receiving the ECDI notification.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla