On May 15, a new tobacco factory was opened in the Lviv region. The event would have been great if not for the owner of the factory, Philip Morris International.
Why is this fact essentially shameful for Ukraine and its authorities, since more than $30 million has been invested in the factory and it will employ several hundred workers, including those relocated from Kharkiv region, where Philip Morris International has a production facility? The answer is simple: a little less than a year ago, in August 2023, the NACP added Philip Morris International to the list of “International Sponsors of War.” The Antikor portal writes.
Philip Morris International was included in this list for doing business in Russia and continuing to support the fascist country’s economy.
However, at the beginning of the full-scale war, Philip Morris International promised to sell its branches in Russia by “the end of 2022,” but promises remain promises.
Currently, according to the Joker Telegram channel, one of the Russian factories produces special cigarettes for the occupied Ukrainian territories:
In Russia, Philip Morris International has two tobacco manufacturing plants – Philip Morris Izhora JSC in the Leningrad region and Philip Morris Izhora Kuban, a branch of Philip Morris Izhora JSC in Krasnodar. Philip Morris Sales & Marketing LLC is engaged in trade, represented in more than 100 cities across the country. Currently, Philip Morris International’s total investment in Russia exceeds $2 billion.
If you check the Russian registers, you will find that Philip Morris Ijora JSC has significantly increased its profits over the past two years: in 2022, with revenues of 140 billion rubles, the profit was 48 billion, in 2023, revenues were 151 billion rubles, and the profit was 56 billion.
Another factory, Philip Morris Ijora JSC, is also doing well: in 2022, revenue was 131 billion rubles and net profit was 48 billion; in 2023, with revenue of 151 billion, the factory made 56 billion in profit. Almost the same as the factory in Izhora.
Although, as a reminder, both Russian factories of Philip Morris International were supposed to be liquidated in 2022:
Why did Philip Morris International not fulfill its promise? The answer is obvious: money – last year alone, the company earned 112 billion rubles in net profit. That is $1,232,000,000 at the current exchange rate. A billion and a quarter dollars – and that’s just for last year. Who would give up such money voluntarily? And on top of that, Philip Morris International’s profits in Russia are constantly growing. Including through trade in the occupied territories, not to mention Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, where the products of both Russian branches of Philip Morris International have been sold quite openly since the annexation.
However, all of this concerns Philip Morris International. Although it sounds cynical, money is money, and the owners of Philip Morris International have the right to choose whether to make money in a fascist country, thus sponsoring its regime and allocating funds for the murder of Ukrainians, or to refuse to participate in this process.
As for Ukraine, there are even more questions. If Philip Morris International is on the list of international war sponsors, if it pays hundreds of millions of dollars to the Russian budget, then the question is obvious: why is it still operating in Ukraine? Why are we so happy that the factory has successfully relocated from the Kharkiv region, where it is being shelled by Russian troops (by the way, for its own money), to the Lviv region? Who gave permission and why does Philip Morris International still operate in Ukraine?
This raises another, more global question. What right do we have to demand that our Western partners shut down their business in Russia if we do not in any way prevent companies that sponsor the Russian regime and the war against Ukraine from doing business in our country? Why, in fact, should Philip Morris International leave Russia if its factory is being inaugurated in Ukraine, and Ukrainian civil servants under blue and yellow flags cut the ribbon at its entrance and applaud with delight? After that, what right do we have to demand anything from Western countries regarding sanctions against companies that have continued to work for Russia?
This list of questions can go on and on. However, the fact remains that Philip Morris International, which sponsors Putin’s murderers, has inaugurated its new factory in Ukraine. To the sounds of “She is not dead yet…” and the waving of blue and yellow flags. What do you call it?