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Wetherspoons to stop selling Russian beer amid Ukraine invasion
Wetherspoons has pulled Russian-made beer from all of its pubs across the UK
Pub chain JD Wetherspoons has announced that it will no longer be selling Russian beer amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Bottles of Baltika Lager – which is brewed in Vladimir Putin’s home city of St. Petersburg – has been pulled from shelves in all Wetherspoons pubs across the UK.
A spokesperson for the pub chain said: “In light of the situation in Ukraine we just felt that we could not stock it anymore.
JD Wetherspoon
“As of today all those beers won’t be available in any Wetherspoon pub and have either been or are in the process of being returned to the Carlsberg distributor.
“We are not implying in any way that anyone involved with the brewery is directly involved with what’s going on but we thought in light of the current situation our pubs don’t want to be serving Russian beers.”
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Wetherspoons will continue to sell Smirnoff vodka, which is owned by London firm Diageo and produced in different distilleries all over the world.
Though this isn’t the first instance of venues boycotting Russian-made products; Arc Inspirations, which owns and operates Manchester venues such as Box, Manahatta and Banyan, announced earlier this week that Russian vodka will no longer be poured in any of its bars.
Sharing its announcement on Twitter, Arc Inspirations wrote: “To show our support to the people of Ukraine we will no longer be pouring any Russian vodka in any of our bars. #standwithukraine”.
Half of Europe, a nightlife advocacy network for eastern Europe, also urged nightlife businesses and policy-makers to boycott Russian drinks and to decline any invitations to perform in Russia.
Greater Manchester’s night time economy advisor Sacha Lord has urged business owners to follow Half of Europe’s policy, writing on Twitter: “Nightlife businesses and policy makers boycott Russia, including dropping any Russian products inc drinks.
“I urge others to follow.”