Nestle: Yorkshire firm being pressured to leave Russia by Ukraine and Anonymous

Kyiv’s ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko singled out a number British consumer goods firms as he warned multinationals “there is no place for responsible businesses” in Russia.

They include Nestle, which has strong links to Yorkshire.

In an interview with the PA news agency, Mr Prystaiko said: “They have to pull out right now because the world is now painted in black and white, or blood red and white, and there are unfortunately no shades of it.

“You are either supporting the Russian Federation in what you are doing or you are staying on this side of the conflict.”

An exodus of corporations such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola began in the weeks after the Russian president launched his invasion.

But Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is pressuring firms such as Unilever, Nestle and Mondelez to leave the Russian market completely.

Asked what his message to big business is, Mr Prystaiko said: “It’s simple: pull out of there. You will find more business, more opportunities, because people will respect what you’ve done as a company.”

And now the international activist group Anonymous is also pressuring Nestle to cut all ties with Russia, while also calling for people to boycott buying its products.

In a tweet, it said: "When we see destruction, misery and death, we cannot support a company like Nestle, which has decided to continue its activities in Russia.

"Do not buy products belonging to Nestle!"

Nestle said in a statement: “We have significantly scaled back our activities in Russia: we have stopped all imports and exports from Russia, except for essential products. We no longer make investments or advertise our products. We do not make a profit from our remaining activities. The fact that we, like other food companies, supply the population with important food does not mean that we simply continue as before.”

“At the same time, we are doing whatever we can in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to help alleviate this humanitarian catastrophe. Our colleagues in Ukraine are doing everything they can to help the population with food donations. We are still one of the few active food companies in Ukraine and sometimes even manage to distribute food in Kharkiv.”