Heineken has sought approval from the Russian Federation to sell its business in Russia.

The Dutch brewer had previously announced in April 2022 that it planned to leave Russia, in the wake of their war in Ukraine.

It had already ended the production, sale and advertising of the Heineken brand in the country and announced that it would not accept any net financial benefits or profit from its business there.

The company announced an update on the situation as it posted its Q1 2023 results.

It said: “We continue to make progress to transfer the ownership of our business in Russia and an application has been submitted for approval to the authorities in the Russian Federation in-line with local regulatory requirements.

“There is a limit to what we can say before this process is completed. If and when we have approval, we will share further details about the buyer and agreement.”