Ukraine added PepsiCo and Mars to the list of war sponsors

The Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPK) included two leading food corporations, PepsiCo and Mars, in the list of international sponsors of the war.

Both companies continue to work in Russia and pay taxes, thereby supporting its economy during the invasion of Ukraine, writes NAPK.

According to the agency, PepsiCo – producer of Pepsi and Mirinda drinks, Lay’s chips, Agusha and Chudo dairy products – has been operating in Russia since 1974, has 19 factories, 20 thousand employees and 40 thousand agricultural workers there. Now the company has more than 580 open positions in Russia, the NAPK claims.

In 2022, the net profit of the Russian division of PepsiCo grew by 333%, the company paid more than 115 million dollars in taxes to the budget of Russia, calculated by NAPK. Also, according to the agency, Lay’s chips were found in the food rations of Russian soldiers.

The Mars company, which produces Mars, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix and Bounty chocolate bars, as well as Whiskas and Pedigree pet food, also increased its revenues in Russia. Its net profit per hour grew by 59%, it paid more than 93 million dollars in taxes to the Russian budget, calculated by NAPK. The company also continues to recruit employees in Russia.

After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, PepsiCo announced that it was stopping advertising in Russia, and Mars promised to stop international deliveries and use the profits from the Russian business “for humanitarian purposes.”

• According to the calculations of the Kyiv School of Economics, after the start of the war, only about 8% of foreign companies left the Russian market, and 40% continue to work in the same way.