The consumer group Unilever, which owns brands including Cornetto ice-cream and Dove soap, has said it will comply with Russian conscription law, meaning its Russian employees could be sent to war in Ukraine if called up.
The Anglo-Dutch group, whose products also include Marmite spread and Magnum ice-creams, is facing controversy over its decision to remain operating in Russia, where it employs about 3,000 workers across four manufacturing sites, producing mainly personal care and hygiene products, but also ice-cream.
In a letter to the group B4Ukraine, which campaigns for companies to cease operating in Russia, Unilever said it would comply with Russian conscription law.
In the letter, made public by the BBC, Unilever said: “We would like to reiterate that Unilever absolutely condemns the war in Ukraine as a brutal, senseless act by the Russian state and we continue to join the international community in calling for stability and peace in the region.”
But the company, whose global brands include Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream and Knorr soups, said it continued to operate in Russia because “exiting is not straightforward”. It was staying put and continuing its operations in Russia “both to avoid the risk of our business ending up in the hands of the Russian state, either directly or indirectly, and to help protect our people”.
Reginaldo Ecclissato, Unilever’s chief business operations and supply chain officer, wrote that the wellbeing of staff was paramount. “We continue to run our business in Russia in alignment with our global principles including the safety and wellbeing of our employees,” he said.
But in response to B4Ukraine’s request for further details on conscription to the Russian army, Ecclissato wrote: “We are aware of the law requiring any company operating in Russia to permit the conscription of employees should they be called. We always comply with all the laws of the countries we operate in.”
Valeriia Voshchevska, of the Ukraine Solidarity Project (USP) campaign group, tweeted: “If this is protecting your workers, I’d hate to see what putting them in harm’s way looks like. And what about innocent Ukrainian civilians – does Unilever not think they deserve protecting too?”
Earlier this month, Unilever was named as an international sponsor of war by the Ukrainian government after it became subject to a law in Russia obliging all large companies operating there to contribute directly to its war effort.
Campaigners called on Unilever to withdraw from Russia, where its local business continues to sell “essential” products. In its letter to B4Ukraine, the company said it had paid 3.8bn roubles (£33m) in tax to the Russian state in 2022, a similar amount to the previous year.
Earlier this month, USP put up a giant billboard outside Unilever’s London headquarters featuring pictures of wounded Ukrainian soldiers – posing in the style of the Dove beauty brand’s advertisements – and the slogan: “Helping to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Unilever was placed on the sponsors of war list alongside companies including Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest manufacturer of household chemicals and personal care products, and the French supermarket group Leroy Merlin.
Unilever has previously said it ceased all imports and exports of its products into and out of Russia in March last year and has stopped all media and advertising spend and capital flows.
