Heineken confirmed that it has stopped all production and sale of its beer in Russia.

The company released a statement this week announcing the news following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We are shocked and saddened to watch the tragedy in Ukraine unfold,” the statement read. “We stand with the Ukrainian people and our hearts go out to all those affected.

“The Russian Government’s war against Ukraine is an unprovoked and completely unjustified attack.

“In response to the continued escalation of the war, we are today announcing the following steps.

“Heineken will stop the production, advertising and sale of the Heineken brand in Russia.

“We will take immediate steps to ring-fence our Russian business from the wider Heineken company to stop the flow of monies and dividends out of Russia.

“Heineken will no longer accept any net financial benefit derived from our Russian operations.

“This is in addition to the earlier announced stop on all new investments and exports to Russia.

“We are assessing the strategic options for the future of our Russian operations. We see a clear distinction between the actions of the Government and our employees in Russia.

“For more than twenty years, our local employees have been valued members of the Heineken business.

“Supporting our employees and their families is a key principle as we define the path forward.

“We will continue and further step up our support and donations to NGOs operating in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

“We are proud of our colleagues and local operating companies for their efforts to help people affected by the war who have fled to safety in neighbouring countries.

“We hope very much that a path to a peaceful outcome emerges in the near term.”