Pro-Ukrainian activists will gather on June 11 in Amsterdam near the venue of the Consumer Goods Forum to call on the attending executives to withdraw their companies from the Russian market.
As high-level executives arrive at the forum, activists confront them at the entrance, highlighting the consequences of their continued business in Russia, which contributes tax revenue to the country’s war chest.
The Global Consumer Goods Forum, taking place from June 10 to 13 in Amsterdam, will bring together CEOs and senior executives from major multinational companies that continue doing business in warring Russia, including Mondelez, PepsiCo, P&G, Coca-Cola, and Philips.
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is also scheduled to speak at the event. The activists have sent her a letter, citing her role as an advocate for sustainable development and human rights, and urging her to publicly call on participating companies to exit Russia.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating human toll. Over 170,000 documented war crimes have been committed by the Russian Armed Forces. Russia has destroyed more than 4,000 schools and 2,000 health facilities, displacing 3.7 million
Ukrainians internally and forcing 6.5 million to seek refuge abroad. While Ukraine endures these atrocities, many multinational companies prioritise making profits and paying taxes to the Russian state, completely disregarding their commitments under international human rights and humanitarian law, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
According to B4Ukraine’s analysis, foreign multinationals paid at least $41.6 billion in taxes to Russia in 2022–2023, with an estimated additional $20 billion expected in 2024. These more than $60 billion in taxes paid to the Kremlin equal almost half of Russia’s 2025 military budget. Fast- Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) comprise the highest revenue generating and tax-paying sector in Russia, accounting for over $58.5 billion in revenue made in Russia in 2023.
This sector includes major American brands, whose leadership will be present at the Forum, such as Mondelez International ($1.4 billion of revenue in Russia), PepsiCo ($4.2 billion), and Procter & Gamble ($1.8 billion).
The Ukrainian government has designated these companies “International Sponsors of War” for providing financial assistance to the Kremlin through corporate taxes and human/physical resources, as per the requirements of Russia’s Partial Mobilization Order.
FMCG firms claim to provide the so-called ‘essential’ goods to the Russian population, clearly stretching such a definition to include personal hygiene items, cookies, and chocolates that Ukrainians are often deprived of. Nezir Sinani, Executive Director of
B4Ukraine, said: “Every dollar of corporate taxes paid to the Kremlin’s coffers translates into more missiles and drones used by Russia to terrorize Ukrainians. It’s time to stop this once and for all! The CEOs of the world’s largest FMCG companies need to hear a clear message that continued corporate presence in Russia contributes to a war economy that violates fundamental human rights and international norms.”
Oleksandr Tomashchuk, Board Member of the Ukrainians in the Netherlands Foundation, said: “Every euro paid in taxes to russia helps finance missile strikes, war crimes, and the destruction of our democratic European country which is also a home for 40-million people. We call on all Consumer Goods Forum participants to uphold their moral standards and withdraw from the Russian market without delay. Doing business with an aggressor state is not neutrality — it’s complicity.”
Christie Miedema, Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights’ representative in the Netherlands, said: “As activists, we’re calling on the CEO’s of major companies like Mondelez, Pepsico and P&G present in Amsterdam today to stop funding war through their business dealings and tax payments in Russia. It’s unfathomable that more than three years since the start of the full scale invasion these companies continue to ignore the global call for disinvestment from the aggressor.”
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