Zara, PayPal and Samsung have joined the wave of Western companies withdrawing their business from Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
In a letter tweeted by Ukrainian Vice President Mykhailo Fedorov, PayPal’s CEO cites “Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine” for the company’s decision to cut ties with Russia.
We received a letter from @Dan_Schulman, CEO PayPal. So now it’s official: PayPal shuts down its services in Russia citing Ukraine aggression. Thank you @PayPal for your supporting! Hope that soon you will open it in for 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/RaJxEMSLQe
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 5, 2022
Samsung said they would cease shipments to Russia “due to current geopolitical developments,” according to a report from Reuters.
Zara’s parent company said they “could not guarantee the continuity [of operations],” according to the BBC.
While Samsung is South Korean and Zara is owned by a Spanish firm, these companies follow American companies like Mastercard and Visa who also recently announced that they would halt business operations in Russia.
Some American companies have taken a more direct and aggressive approach to oppose Russian aggression. A recent internet campaign has coordinated the direct transfer of almost $2 Million dollars from donors around the world to Ukrainian citizens through Airbnb.
People are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine they don’t intend to stay in just to help Hosts https://t.co/L6B11ioSXb
— Brian Chesky 🇺🇦 (@bchesky) March 3, 2022
Another company, an American munitions manufacturer, has pledged to send one-million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine. (RELATED: Ukrainian Soldier Allegedly Blows Himself Up To Repel Russians, Government Says)
These moves from the private sector come after weeks of escalating violence from Russia on Ukrainian soil. Days after a Ukrainian soldier allegedly blew himself up to fend off a column of Russian tanks, Russian soldiers ambushed a British Sky News crew in an attack that was caught on film.