After the missile attack on Kyiv on July 8, when a Russian missile hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, a video of the Philip Morris International (PMI) factory in the Leningrad region of Russia went viral on social media. Ukrainians were outraged that an international tobacco manufacturer was still operating in Russia, investing huge amounts of money in production and being one of the largest taxpayers to the Russian budget among international companies. The money is also used by the Russian army to shell Ukrainian cities every day. Kp.ua writes.
“An important step for further promotion of our innovative product (IQOS) in Russia was the decision to localize its production at the Philip Morris Ijora factory… We are very proud that Philip Morris Ijora is one of six Philip Morris International factories that have fully or partially switched to smokeless tobacco production,” says Konstantin Solovyov, Director of Philip Morris Ijora, in the official video.
“Just p****sy,” the video was commented on by the popular telegram channel Joker.
Philip Morris International is officially recognized in Ukraine as an international sponsor of the war because of its huge tax payments to the Russian budget and refusal to cut production or leave the Russian market. At the same time, the company is a monopolist on the Ukrainian market and regularly receives tax preferences from the authorities. Recently, the Verkhovna Rada approved a preferential excise tax for their new product (IQOS), reducing it by 20%.
Earlier, analysts from the Kyiv School of Economics estimated that the money Philip Morris International earned in Russia in 2022 ($7.888 billion) could buy 4,900 Kalibr missiles, 78 fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, or 1,089 T-90 tanks.