Ukraine Tags Oreo Manufacturer A Sponsor Of Russian War For Contributing To 'Aggressor's Army'

Ukraine on Thursday tagged the company behind Oreo as one of the several companies still operating in Russia amid the 15-month-long war.

The company in question is Mondelez International, which is represented by Mon'dalis Rus LLC in the Russian market. The company has three factories in the country — including Bolshevik, which produces Barney Bear, TUC Crackers, Yubileynoye biscuits and Oreo.

In a statement, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) claimed the company's managers are unconcerned that they are contributing to the supply of the Russian army by allegedly continuing to operate in the country even after the invasion.

"Since the outbreak of full-scale war, many businesses that care about their reputation have left Russia. But this is not the case with Mondelez International," said NACP.

"Apparently, its managers are not concerned about the fact that by paying substantial taxes to the state budget of Russia, the company contributes to the supply of the aggressor's army."

The company reportedly operates two other factories in Russia, specifically one in Pokrova that produces Alpen Gold, Milka chocolate and Picnic Bar; and another in Veliky Novgorod that produces Dirol chewing gum and Halls lollipop.

The NACP noted that the company's profit amounted to $339 million while its revenues hit over $1 billion at the end of 2022. Mondelez International reportedly paid at least $61 million in taxes to Russia, which Ukraine said is being spent by the Russian army "on missiles that kill Ukrainian children."

In March 2022, Mondelez International promised to scale back "non-essential activities in Russia while helping maintain continuity of the food supply." It also promised to donate millions of dollars to several charities and humanitarian organizations.

"We will focus our operation on basic offerings, discontinue all new capital investments and suspend our advertising media spending. We recognize this is a highly dynamic and very concerning situation that we will continue to assess and adjust as needed," CEO Dirk Van De Put said in an email to employees at the time.

To date, over 1,000 companies have either stopped or scaled back operations in Russia following the war, according to the Yale School of Management. However, some still remain operational in the country.

Apart from Mondelez International, more than two dozen European companies are also still said to be supplying tactical goods to the Russian army. German companies Jakob KECK Chemie GmbH and Salamander SPS GmbH & Co. KG, as well as the Italian company Tacchificio Campliglionese, were allegedly supplying leather, shoe glue and soles to a Rostov-based manufacturer that produces tactical boots for the Russian army.

The International Business Times could not independently verify the information in the report.