McFaul considers it a disgrace that US companies pay $1 billion in taxes to Russia

Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called the decision of 123 large US companies to stay in Russia and pay taxes in the country "absolutely disgraceful," Newsweek writes.

"I hope that the shareholders of these companies will be more proactive in reconsidering the appropriateness and morality of funding the murder of Ukrainian civilians. It is not too late to do the right thing," he told the magazine.

American companies in Russia paid the country $1.2 billion in profit taxes in 2023, the publication writes, citing a study by the B4Ukraine group, which keeps track of companies continuing to operate in the Russian market, and the Kyiv School of Economics.

According to the study, the top three companies that paid the most in profit taxes to Russia in 2023 included tobacco company Philip Morris International  ($220 million), beverage manufacturer PepsiCo ($135 million), and confectionery company Mars ($99 million).

Many foreign companies, including American ones, left Russia after the start of the military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Among them are Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, etc. In March 2024 ,  Reuters estimated the losses of companies that left Russia at $100 billion.

Philip Morris International (PMI, owns the Marlboro, Bond, Parliament and other brands) announced in 2022 that it planned to leave Russia. In February 2023, CEO Jacek Olczak said that the company would “rather leave” its business in Russia than sell it on unfavorable terms. According to him, PMI was in talks with at least three “serious” potential buyers, but the discussions “have reached a dead end” because no one knows how to achieve a profitable deal under the current conditions. 

In September 2023,  Ukraine added PepsiCo and Mars to the list of "international sponsors of war" for continuing to operate in Russia. The list also included other Western companies that had not left the Russian market.

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