UK Protest at Cadbury’s Against Mondelez International’s Continuing Business in Russia

In a display of solidarity with Ukraine, demonstrators converged outside Cadbury World on Saturday, March 16th, to confront Mondelez International, the parent company of Cadbury, over its financial backing of the Russian government amidst the ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Organized by members of the Ukrainian diaspora in the UK, the protest aimed to spotlight Mondelez's contributions to Russia’s war budget. Reports indicate that despite promises to scale back operations, Mondelez has maintained three factories in Russia and reportedly channeled 48 million pounds in profit tax contributions to the Kremlin in 2022.

The activists gathered around messages such as "Stop Funding the War" and "Exit Russia."

Speakers at the event underscored the disparity between British taxpayer support for Ukraine, exceeding 13 billion pounds in bilateral assistance, and Mondelez's actions, which critics argue, empower the Russian government accused of perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

In February 2024, the СEO of Mondelez Dirk Van de Put claimed that investors do not "morally care" about its continued operations in Russia. The reaction from London came from a Senior member of the British Parliament who called on Mondelez to withdraw from Russia and stop funding its "war machine."

A member of the conservative party Bob Seely, who also chairs the Ukraine Parliamentary Group, highlighted that "any company doing business in Russia without good reason should suffer reputational damage," adding: "They are helping fascism, pure and simple."

B4Ukraine (Business for Ukraine )is a global coalition of civil society organizations driven by a common goal: to block access to the economic resources behind Russian aggression.