Can someone explain the point of this to me? It's not like it will be sticking it to Putin so that he doesn't get to enjoy a Big Mac. Is this just virtue signalling from MCD, or is there some plausible way that this helps?

It helps McDo. There's no point in keeping the business running if revenue cannot be taken out of Russia due to the currency controls ordered by Putin.

Whatever virtue signalling means, I guess that's not the cause. It's just that Putin killed the business model with the currency controls.

There is huge investor and stakeholder pressure on any multinational business with activity in Russia now. Companies are between pushed to divest or close Russia business or risk losing business in the West. Difficult to see what good this achieves, but another step back to the Soviet Union.

I agree, I don't see the point of punishing ordinary Russians who are also victims of Putin's tyranny. By pulling social media services, Netflix, fast food, Visa/Mastercard, Coca-Cola etc.. it not only throws the country back into the Soviet era but could harden public opinion and sense of victim-hood. Counter-intuitively we could see more declarations of national pride and resistance than calls for revolution and toppling of the regime.

It's not called "Virtual signalling" although it may look a bit like it, it is called "Pissing the population off" to such an extent they remove Putain from power.


Whilst the simple effect of not being able to eat a Big Mac won't make too much difference, add them all together from the low level of Macdo up to high level of Hermes and the effect quickly becomes noticable.

Of course economic sanctions don't make people topple the dictator, see Venezuela. But, the dictator becomes harmless in the long term to people outside, see Venezuela.

Can only think that the supermarket shelves are already empty. Or the price for a Big Mac hasn't changed yet. Perhaps going out of country sale!

I suppose Pizza Hut are the next to leave, they came in this order...

I agree, both are losers now. However, the ferocious fighting put up by the Ukrainians seems to have won them massive points on the negotiation table.
Zakharova just said that Moscow's aims do not include overthrowing the Kyiv government and it hopes to achieve more significant progress in the next round of talks with Ukraine


It's clear to everyone that wars finish on the negotiation table, not on the battlefield, BUT the battlefield performance sets the cards on the table

WWII didn't end up by negotiating in any sense, Russians devastaed Berlin, the US devestated Japan, no negotiation at all !!

read this in a tweet:

Regardless of whose side you're on, removing Heineken, Pizza Hut, Coca Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's and Yum Yum donuts seems appropriate from a public health perspective.

Not sure if this has been discussed, and I know this is probably a very impopular thought and a bit naive . Berlusconi, I recall, spoke about this years ago. But: has Europe at any time considered Russia for EU membership? Rather: redefine Europe as Eurasia. Could this be the moment to resource to very radical ideas to solve this unsolvable problem?

I read that, in terms of Europe-Russia relations, polls have been showing that EU was perceived quite well by Russian population, improving over time except that when polls reached ample acceptance in Russia a crisis came and a fall - then Crimea was invaded, or now Ucrania, and the Russian people mostly went back to unacceptance. Who benefits from this? The big losers are Europe and Russia. I have been working, dining, partying with Russians. I do not see such cultural distance as to have two separate blocks, or not more distance than between some EU members. We are actually in the same continent if we think about it. We have common history with division of territory different from what today is. Economics play a role, but Russian economy is not that big, although their territory, natural resources and military power certainly is. This division of the old USSR members acting as a security band dividing Russia from Europe seems artificial to me. The global powers would be more balanced if instead of going to war and destruction Europe and Russia would seek union.

Perhaps, only perhaps, opening our minds to a future Eurasia could be a possibility? Would any of our leaders even consider something like this? Not Putin, not now after the invasion, I guess.

__________________
Sometimes you gotta say WTF?! It gives you freedom.

KFC and Pizza Hut, both owned by Yum Brands, announced withdrawl from Russia.

Over 300 Companies Have Withdrawn from Russia, here is the latest list.

The President that the Russians voted in has invaded Ukraine so making life less pleasant for those Russian voters is OK. Life is now a lot less pleasant for people living in Ukraine - maybe people here could offer more sympathy for the Ukrainians and less for the Russians?

I am sure Putin would be open to extending Russia to the Atlantic. The EU to the Pacific? Not so sure.

During WWII the Allies had declared that they seek nothing short of unconditional surrender and the Nazis had literally nothing to lose if they kept fighting until the end as the end would have been the same whether they are defeated or surrender.

This is not the case with Russia and Ukraine, not sure why you believe it was a relevant example.

South Africa?

AFAIK, Germany did pay almost nothing after WW2.

Even more so, all pre-war debt was nixed after a while (with agreement from the Allies).

The only exception is Israel. There are AFAIK still payments.

Unfortunately, starting a war and basically bombing your opponent to rubbles is not the same as damaging a parked car while you're stumbling home hammered.

With hindsight, a lot of people in Europe agreed after WW2 that the reparation after WW1 were not helpful in the end.

Reparations will just make people resentful.

Its a lot more nuanced than that, is Russia a true democracy? were there free and fair elections? Because if there were, Navalny wouldn't have been poisoned and thrown in Jail.

Of course we all have sympathy for Ukraine, but making life increasingly miserable for Russians isn't going to make much difference to Putin and his enablers who are living on another planet.

Poland said today that it wants to work with NATO countries to send fighter jets to Ukraine one day after the U.S. rejected Poland’s proposal.

"Such a serious decision as supplying planes must be unanimous and unequivocally made by the whole North Atlantic alliance," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference.

He also said the Norway - Poland gas pipeline will be finished in 7/8 months.

Yes, I see your point, but the exodus of western companies and brands is rather a by-product of the sanctions and capital controls rather than a specific objective. These companies are not only trying to avoid boycott in the west, but also they're basically unable to repatriate profits back home.

So it's rather unfortunate, but expected collateral-damage of the sanctions, for which there's wide consensus that they are needed and working.