Every time you think the bottom has been broken, someone knocks from below.
I am tired of writing about the war sponsor Philip Morris.
Expert Volodymyr Gorkovenko wrote on his Facebook page.
Initially, the NACP covered up this registry.
They said that if there is no register, there is no problem.
And now the sponsors of the war are starting to receive some kind of gifts from our state.
In particular, employees of tobacco companies have the right to make reservations.
Actually, this news is several months old.
Personally, I thought the government would reconsider this decision.
But they didn’t.
And this is at a time when certain categories of Ukrainians will lose the right to defer mobilization from August 1. And we are talking not only about students and single parents, but also about employees of the Ministry of Defense. That is, the employees of the Ministry of Defense are not important at all, but the tobacco factory worker is the reserve that brings our victory closer.
Back in October 2023, Forbes compiled a rating of foreign companies that are not leaving the Russian market and are contributing to the budget of the occupying country. The top 50 list was headed by Leroy Merlin of Switzerland, JT Group of Japan, and Philip Morris of the United States.
The tobacco giant’s revenue in 2022 was 400 billion rubles. At the official Russian ruble exchange rate, this is about $4 billion. In 2023, this amount was already almost 5 billion. This is an increase of about 23%.
That is, in every missile, in every drone, in every bullet, there is a share of Philip Morris. Meanwhile , in Ukraine, this company has reservations for its employees.
In Russia, the tobacco sponsor of the war is investing 6 billion rubles, or about $60 million dollars, in a factory in the Leningrad region.
At the same time, Philip Morris invested half as much, $30 million, in a new factory in Lviv region. It was just launched two months ago, and its employees immediately received reservations.
I am not against foreign investment coming to Ukraine. But for some reason, only those who sponsor the war against Ukraine come in. Because they are not afraid that a missile will come to them. They do not shoot at their own people. For them, Ukraine and Russia are something in common. It’s the same propaganda mantra about the “adin-nation”. But our government also gives them a reservation
I was trying to find at least some positive reasons why a sponsor of the killing of Ukrainians should work in Ukraine. A few months ago, I analyzed and published information on how the tobacco giant helps the Armed Forces. All I found was a report by the odious Danylo Hetnev that in 2022, the American tobacco company Philip Morris donated 500 thousand packs of cigarettes to the Ukrainian army. packs of cigarettes. Then this “goose plucker” and ex-assistant to the traitorous MP Volodymyr Sivkovych wrote in Russian in a pathetic and ambiguous way “Everything for the victory!”
At the same time, Russian public media reports that Philip Morris also pampered the occupiers with cigarettes. There is no exact figure. But I think it’s much higher than this screenshot of the Z-public.
Interestingly, the tobacco giant does not officially report separately on its assistance to either the Russian army or the Armed Forces. This assistance is covered by general phrases such as “charity” or “humanitarian projects”
As of the beginning of this year, Philip Morris has allocated a total of UAH 400 million for these charitable and humanitarian projects since the beginning of the great war.
Meanwhile, in Russia, similar projects cost twice or even three times as much money. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a manufacturer of non-strategic cigarettes has a reservation.
This situation is really annoying. I understand everything. I understand that the country needs money, that any investment, even small ones, should be applauded. But to give a reservation to a company that sponsors the war is to shoot our guys in the back.