Nestle, tobacco groups latest companies to pull back from Russia

Moscow, which calls its invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation", has been hit by sweeping Western sanctions that have choked trade, led to the collapse of the rouble and further isolated the country

Nestle(NESN.S), Philip Morris (PM.N)and Imperial Brands (IMB.L)joined the list of multinationals stepping back from Russia on Wednesday as pressure mounts from consumers in the West to take a stand against the invasion of Ukraine, Qazet.az reports.

The world's biggest packaged food group fell into line with rivals Procter & Gamble (PG.N)and Unilever (ULVR.L) in halting investment in Russia, while cigarette maker Philip Morris said it would scale down manufacturing and Imperial went further and suspended it.

The moves came after Coca-Cola (KO.N) and McDonald's (MCD.N) halted sales in Russia, where a senior member of the ruling party has warned that foreign firms which close down could see their operations nationalised. 

McDonald's said the temporary closure of its 847 stores in the country would cost it $50 million a month. 

Sportswear firm Adidas (ADSGn.DE)also quantified the cost of scaling back its operations, saying it would take a hit to sales of up to 250 million euros. 

PepsiCo (PEP.O) and Starbucks (SBUX.O) have also joined the dozens of global companies closing stores, factories or exiting investments to comply with sanctions or due to supply disruptions. 

Those supply hurdles include the world's top three shipping giants suspending container routes.

Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), parent of fried chicken giant KFC, said it was pausing investments in Russia, a market that helped it achieve record development last year.