Japan Tobacco Inc. said it temporarily suspended operations at its plant in Ukraine after Russia began attacking the country.
The safety of all 900 workers at the facility has been confirmed and the company is monitoring developments closely, a spokesman at Japan Tobacco wrote in an email Friday. The factory, located in a industrial city of Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, makes cigarettes for the local market.
Japan Tobacco is the latest to join global businesses ranging from Nestle SA to Carlsberg AS in suspending operations in Ukraine. Denmark’s Carlsberg, with 1,300 workers in Ukraine, stopped operations at two of its three breweries there, while Nestle, which employs roughly 5,000 people in Ukraine, temporarily closed three factories that produce confectionery, prepared dishes as well as powdered and liquid beverages.
Russian troops are attacking Ukraine from the north, south and east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defense chief is predicting a new wave of attacks. U.S. President Joe Biden imposed stiff sanctions on Russia over the invasion, as Western nations warned the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv could fall to the Russian forces soon.
Japan Tobacco had a 37% share of the Russian market as of December 2021, according to the company. It paid about $1.6 billion in 2018 for Donskoy Tabak and has 4,500 employees across Russia at 70 offices and five factories.