The boss of Cadbury chocolate-maker Mondelez has admitted he is "not pleased" that the company's taxes are funding the war in Ukraine – but insists staying in Russia was the "right decision".
Chief executive Dirk Van de Put defended the firm's continued presence in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, warning that pulling out would risk thousands of jobs and leave Mondelez vulnerable to the Kremlin seizing control of its local operations.
“Mondelez boss admits taxes fund Ukraine war but defends staying in Russia as 'right decision'”
"I think over time you try to be neutral in the whole conflict. We're not trying to take any side," Van de Put said in an interview as part of the BBC's Big Boss Interview series. "I think we did the right thing for our people in Russia. Can we be criticised for that? Yeah, of course. We pay taxes in Russia that helps the war. I'm not pleased about that."
Many Western companies, such as McDonald's, exited Russia after the invasion. Mondelez instead discontinued new investment and suspended advertising in Russia, but continued to generate between $1bn (£745m) and $1.4bn a year in sales from the country.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from UK politicians. Last year, more than 70 MPs signed a letter from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine to Van de Put, calling for Mondelez to sever its business ties with Russia. Alex Sobel, chair of the parliamentary group, wrote: "Continuing to operate in a nation responsible for the deaths of countless Ukrainian civilians and the abduction of thousands of children cannot be justified under any definition of 'business as usual'."
Van de Put argued that leaving Russia would have backfired. "They would have confiscated our plant. It would have probably given them a much bigger source of income, keep on selling our products to fund the war," he told the BBC. "So I feel that in the end it is not the most popular decision, but I think it was the right decision."
Mondelez, which also owns Philadelphia cream cheese, Ritz crackers and Toblerone, continues to operate in Ukraine, where the conflict is never far away. On the morning of his interview, Van de Put said an office building in Ukraine had been hit. "Everybody's safe," he said. "But yes, it's the reality of the situation."
The company runs two manufacturing plants in Ukraine – one in Trostyanets, near the Russian border, and one in Vyshhorod, close to the capital Kyiv. "One plant got hit twice, we've rebuilt it twice," Van de Put said, adding that each rebuild costs tens of millions of dollars. "We've agreed that we will rebuild every single time there so we keep on investing in the country. We doubled everybody's ..."