The military options for the U.S. and NATO in Ukraine are complicated. But the economic options aren’t: All global companies should pull out of Russia until it ends its unprovoked and inhumane invasion — and American consumers should actively boycott those that refuse. Luckily, the refuseniks are easily identified on a real-time, running online list offered by a Yale professor. For those who are frustrated and feeling helpless at the heartrending images from Ukraine, this is a concrete way to help bring pressure to bear on Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin.
Seeing those images, it may be difficult to accept that the U.S. and its allies have the firepower to halt the invasion, yet won’t because it could spark an all-out nuclear war. Militarily, the Biden administration and NATO must continue this balancing act of offering Ukraine as much help as they can without giving the potentially unstable Putin an excuse to claim he is at war with the world — and to react in kind.
The fact that military options are so limited makes it that much more important to fully leverage the economic options. Already, sanctions by the U.S. and its partners targeting Russia’s exports and banking system have caused factory closures, spikes in unemployment and interest rates and a dramatically devalued ruble. It’s tragic that regular Russians must be made to feel the glare of world condemnation of their war-criminal leader, but extreme economic discomfort within, possibly prompting political upheaval, is the only realistic way to get to Putin. He can lie to his people about what’s being done in their names in Ukraine, but he can’t very well hide the bare store shelves and empty bank accounts.
Hundreds of global companies have heeded the call to pull out of Russia, but too many still have not. The running list compiled by Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld has been remarkably effective at shaming some of the holdouts. In fact, this Editorial Board was in the process of spotlighting the initial failure of McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola to leave when the companies suddenly announced they were pulling out, apparently in response to national criticism brought on by Sonnenfeld’s list.
So by all means, enjoy those Cokes, Frappuccinos and Big Macs now. Other companies that have done the right thing, and that American consumers regularly come across, include Airbnb, TJ Maxx, Burger King and Nike.
Because the list is so fluid, we’re hesitant to specify here which products to avoid (ahem, Koch Industries), lest they go from the “naughty” list to the “nice” one overnight. Readers should instead study the latest data themselves. (It can be found by Googling “Jeffrey Sonnenfeld Russia list.”) Making these companies feel the sting of rejection among U.S. consumers might well be the only message they understand.
