Dozens of America's best-known companies, ranging from Boeing, Apple, Google and ExxonMobil to Ford and Harley-Davidson, have joined the list of Western brands that have halted business or announced plans to abandon their Russia operations over its invasion of Ukraine, under steady pressure from investors and consumers decrying the violence.
Boeing's rival Airbus also stopped sending spare parts to Russia and supporting Russian airlines, but said it was analyzing whether its Moscow engineering center could keep providing services to local customers under Western sanctions.
U.S. tech giant Apple late on Tuesday said it had stopped sales of iPhones and other products in Russia, adding that it was making changes to its Maps app to protect civilians in Ukraine.
Tech firms including Alphabet's Google dropped Russian state publishers from their news, and Ford Motor – with three joint venture factories in Russia – told its Russian manufacturing partner it was suspending operations in the country.
Western nations have steadily ratcheted up sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine last week, including shutting out some Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial network.
The measures have hammered the ruble and forced the central bank to jack up interest rates, while Moscow has responded to the growing exodus of Western investors by temporarily restricting Russian asset sales by foreigners.
Russian firms, meanwhile, have felt increasingly squeezed. Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, said on Wednesday it was leaving the European market because its subsidiaries faced large cash outflows. It also said the safety of its employees and property was threatened.
Signaling there would be no let-up from the West, U.S. President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "has no idea what's coming" as he joined European states and Canada in closing U.S. airspace to Russian planes.
Japan Airlines, and an ANA Holdings unit said they were considering routes that avoid Russia.
With international shippers such as Maersk, Hapag Lloyd and MSC suspending bookings to and from Russia, the country has become increasingly shut out of world commerce. Sanctions are also squeezing Russia's aviation sector.
Boeing's said on Tuesday it was suspending operations as other aviation companies face growing European and U.S. restrictions on dealings with Russian clients, affecting leasing planes, exporting new aircraft and providing parts.
ExxonMobil said would discontinue operations in Russia and was taking steps to exit the Sakhalin-1 venture, after similar moves to dump assets by British energy giants Shell and BP, Russia's biggest foreign investor.
However, French firm TotalEnergies stopped short of saying it would exit Russia, only saying it would not put in new cash.
Many joined a growing chorus of Western companies openly condemning Russian actions.
"We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence," Apple said in a statement.
"We deplore Russia's military action that violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine and endangers its people," Exxon said, while Ford said in its condemnation: "The situation has compelled us to reassess our operations in Russia."
The decision will see Exxon pull out of managing large oil and gas production facilities on Sakhalin Island in Russia's Far East, and puts the fate of a proposed multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility there in doubt.
Exxon did not provide a timetable for its exit, nor comment on potential asset write-offs. Its Russia assets were valued at nearly $4.1 billion in its latest annual report, filed in February.
Exxon operates three large offshore oil and gas fields with operations based on Sakhalin Island on behalf of a consortium of Japanese, Indian and Russian companies that included Russia's Rosneft. The group had been advancing plans to add an LNG export terminal at the site.
The Sakhalin facilities, which Exxon has operated since production began in 2005, represents one of the largest single direct investments in Russia, according to a project description on Exxon's website. The operation recently has pumped about 220,000 barrels per day of oil.
Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson suspended shipments of its bikes to Russia. Japan's Honda Motor said it suspended shipments of cars and motorcycles, while the Nikkei newspaper reported Mazda will suspend exports of auto parts to its plant in the country.
Boeing said on Tuesday it was suspending parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines. The U.S. plane maker suspended major operations in Moscow and will also temporarily close its office in Kyiv, it said.
The increasing focus of investors in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues has added pressure on companies to act swiftly in ending ties with Russia and Russian entities.
Big U.S. technology companies said they were continuing efforts to stop Russia from taking advantage of their products.
Apple said it had blocked app downloads of some state-backed news services outside of Russia.
Google, owned by Alphabet, said it had blocked mobile apps connected to Russian state-funded publisher RT from its news-related features, including the Google News search.
Google also barred RT and other Russian channels from receiving money for ads on websites, apps and YouTube videos, mirroring a move made by Facebook.
Microsoft said it would remove RT's mobile apps from its Windows App store and ban ads on Russian state-sponsored media.
