'Too many companies continue to profit from business with or in Russia,' writes richardbranson. He urges global business to do more to support Ukraine
n Feb. 22, 2022, I joined a video call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was then facing a terrifying build-up of Russian troops along his country’s borders. Calm and composed, he talked at length about his strategy for Ukraine’s economic transformation and shared his plans to bring foreign investment into the Donbass region, the Eastern part of Ukraine that had seen so much unrest and conflict.
One year on, the toll of Putin’s self-serving assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty has been staggering. Some estimates put the combined number of battlefield casualties on both sides at over 200,000. Caught between the frontlines or targeted by indiscriminate Russian shelling, thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, too. And then there are the countless victims of chilling war crimes allegedly committed by Russian troops and mercenaries marauding in occupied villages and cities.
But while roughly 20% of Ukraine’s territory, from Crimea to the Donbass, remains under Russian control, it is also clear that Putin’s strategy is failing, even as he continues to send wave after wave of poorly trained and ill-equipped conscripts into battle. Thanks to Ukrainians’ resilience and the bravery of its armed forces, supported by Western weapons, Russian advances have come to a screeching halt, producing nothing like the swift victory Russian propagandists had predicted.
Equally challenging is the inconsistency of international sanctions. The E.U. and the U.S. have introduced comprehensive restrictions on trade with Russia, and the speed at which European countries, particularly Germany, have managed to reduce or eliminate their dependency on Russian gas is impressive. Yet, loopholes, exceptions, and the unwillingness of other nations to join in have hindered efforts to stop capital flows into Putin’s coffers.
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