Ukrainians in Amsterdam protest international companies’ operations in Russia

AMSTERDAM – The B4Ukraine, Liberco – Partnership for Human Rights, and the Ukrainians in the Netherlands Foundation civil society organizations staged a rally in the Dutch capital to protest the multinational corporations who continue doing business in Russia. 

The demonstration occurred outside RAI Amsterdam, where the Global Consumer Goods Forum 2025 is being held on June 10-13. 

“The summit gathered executives of multinational companies from all over the world who, despite repeated calls, have yet to withdraw from the Russian market,” organizers said.

Activists greeted forum delegates with protest placards, calling on them to stop financing Russia’s war machine through tax payments to the Kremlin. They emphasized that such funds directly support war crimes and continued aggression against Ukraine. 

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands also spoke at the forum. 

Ahead of the event, protesters published an open letter addressed to her, urging her to publicly call on participating companies to leave the Russian market, given her role as an advocate for sustainable development and human rights. 

According to B4Ukraine, multinational companies paid at least $41.6 billion in taxes to Russia’s state budget between 2022 and 2023. 

“Every dollar of corporate taxes paid to the Kremlin’s coffers turns into more missiles and drones used by Russia to terrorise Ukrainians. It’s time to stop this once and for all! CEOs of companies like Mondelez, PepsiCo, Mars, P&G, and Nestlé — which the Ukrainian government has designated as international sponsors of war — must hear the clear message: continued corporate presence in Russia fuels a war economy that violates human rights and international norms,” said Nezir Sinani, Executive Director of B4Ukraine. 

Although some companies claim they supply “essential goods,” activists call this misleading: these goods include cookies, chocolate, and hygiene products — items that have become scarce in war-torn Ukraine.

“Doing business with an aggressor state is not neutrality, it is complicity. We call on companies to exit the Russian market and act in line with both moral and legal principles,” said Oleksandr Tomashchuk, board member of the Ukrainians in the Netherlands Foundation. 

“We are still seeing companies that, more than three years after the invasion, continue to finance the aggressor. This is unacceptable — it’s time to end collaboration with the Putin regime,” said Christie Miedema, representative of Libereco — Partnership for Human Rights in the Netherlands.