Vičiūnų Grupė (Vičiūnai Group), one of Lithuania’s largest food production groups owned by Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis, said on Monday it was suspending its operations in Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Last week, Vičiūnai Group’s executives backed plans to focus on our business and production in Europe and suspend operations in Russia,” the group's CEO Šarūnas Matijošaitis was quoted in the company’s statement.
“Since day one, we have taken necessary actions regarding the operations of our companies in Russia. These processes take time and intensive work and responsibility in the eyes of European and US partners, suppliers and our workforce,” he added.
The company and its owner, Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis, have attracted criticism for not suspending its activities in Russia immediately after it invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Some of Vičiūnai products are manufactured in the Kaliningrad region and sold in Russia and other eastern markets.
There have also been prior reports that Vičiūnai products are also sold in Russia's annexed Crimea. The group said then it could not control the sellers doing that.
Vičiunai Group also has a business in Ukraine with branches in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa and Ivano-Frankivsk.
The Lithuanian group sells its products in more than 60 markets.
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