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Topics: UK News, Food And Drink, Tesco, Russia, Ukraine
Tom Wood
Supermarket chain Tesco will stop buying in Russian products as a result of the country’s war against Ukraine.
Tesco is the biggest supermarket company in the UK, and has now announced – after others like Co-op and Morrisons – that they won’t be buying any more products from Russian companies.
That doesn’t mean that they’ll be taking the products off the shelves, merely they won’t be buying in any more of them.
A Tesco spokesperson told LADbible: "We will not be buying products from businesses that are wholly Russian owned and we are supporting humanitarian relief efforts through our partnerships with the Red Cross, food banks and other relief organisations to help those affected in Ukraine and neighbouring countries."
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Co-op and Morrisons have announced that they will be removing things from shelves.
Specifically, Russian Standard vodka, which was founded by a Russian billionaire and continues to be made in Russia.
A spokesperson for Co-op said: “In response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and as a sign of solidarity with the people of Ukraine we’ve taken the decision to remove from sale Russian-made Vodka.”
They confirmed that the spirit would be removed ‘with immediate effect’ because it is ‘overtly marketed as being Russian’ and is made in Russia.
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Morrisons then followed suit in removing Russian Standard from sale, as did Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
Sainsbury’s will also no longer sell Karpayskiye black sunflower seeds.
Asda has says it will be removing Russian products soon, with more than 100 products – some alcoholic drinks, but also sweets and fish – being taken out of stores.
Sainsbury’s has also announced that they’ll be changing the name of their Chicken Kievs to Chicken Kyivs to reflect the Ukrainian spelling of the product.
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A spokesperson for the company said: “We stand united with the people of Ukraine.
“We have reviewed our product range and have decided to remove from sale all products that are 100 percent sourced from Russia.”
Tesco’s move comes after many people asked the supermarket to follow the example of its competitors and remove Russian produce and products.
Their Facebook page was bombarded with requests, with one customer asking: “Please remove all Russian made products as soon as possible. All your main competitors are already doing so.”
Another shared a picture of some Russian vodka, writing: “Can we get rid of this please I don’t think its appropriate to advertise/make money with this vodka at the moment.”
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Others have suggested different approaches, with one even suggesting that Clubcard points could be donated to help the people of Ukraine.
They said: “Is there any chance that you could set up a ‘donate your Clubcard points’ for Ukraine, so that goods can be bought and sent to the people there, if not may I suggest you do so and that I start it off with my £20 worth of points.”