Kirill Sazonov, a well-known blogger and political expert, and now a special forces soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wrote a post on his Facebook page, outraged at why the international tobacco company Philip Morris International still continues to operate in Russia, earning huge amounts of money and paying huge taxes and excise taxes there, which go to finance Putin’s army:
Friends, do you remember the other day when I wrote that Snickers and Pepsi manufacturers continue to operate in Russia? And the volunteers gave us 12 boxes of these chocolates. We ate the chocolate, of course. And we use boxes with a logo to make feathers for bombs that fall from drones. In other words, we are also partly engaged in supplying snickers to the Russian consumer. We’ll use more Pepsi bottles, and I’ll make videos. And then the guys sent me a link to Vitaliy Kulyk’s post, where he analyzes the same case, but with cigarettes. To avoid swearing, I’ll write that it’s just… fucking great!
So, the tobacco company Philip Morris International continues to operate in Russia, earning huge amounts of money and paying huge taxes and excise duties there. After two years of war! That is, they were “negotiating” to leave the market. Year. In February 2023, it was announced that the negotiations had reached a deadlock. So what? We stayed to work. Blood, atrocities, war crimes against civilians – haven’t you heard? Have you seen it? So maybe the Philip Morris commercials will feature a cheerful Wagnerian and voice the slogan? Something like, “I don’t know the word ‘war crimes’, I know the word ‘fun’.” And smoke into the cell. And why not? If you can trade, why not be proud of your business?
In 2023, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption added Philip Morris International to the list of international sponsors of war. So what? The company continues to operate in Ukraine and civilized countries. Where are the sanctions? Where are the events? This is real sponsorship of war. This is money for missiles flying at peaceful neighborhoods. Isn’t it time to do something at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada? Otherwise, it turns out to be, excuse me, some kind of bullshit…