Viciunai Group, one of the largest food production groups in Lithuania, said on Monday it was suspending its operation in Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“Last week, Viciunu Grupe’s executives backed plans to focus on the business and production in Europe and suspend operation in Russia,” the group’s CEO Sarunas Matijosaitis was quoted as saying in the group’s statement.

“Since day one, we have taken necessary action regarding the operation of our companies in Russia. These processes take time and intensive work and responsibility in the eyes of European and US partners, suppliers and our workforce,” he added.

Some Viciunai products are manufactured in the Kaliningrad region and sold in Russia and other eastern countries.

There have also been prior reports that Viciunai products are also sold in Russia’s annexed Crimea. The group said then it could not control the sellers doing that.

Viciunai Grupe also has a business in Ukraine with branches in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa and Ivano-Frankivsk.

The Lithuanian group sells its products in more than 60 markets.

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