As Russia's crisis with Ukraine worsened, Netflix, a global streaming entertainment provider, leading accounting firms KPMG and PwC, and financial services firm American Express broke ties with the country on Sunday.
On Sunday, fighting halted efforts to evacuate 200,000 people from Mariupol, the besieged Ukrainian city, for the second day in a succession, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to go on with his onslaught.
According to a Netflix representative, the company's service in Russia has been suspended. Netflix has suspended all future projects and acquisitions in the country earlier this week as it assessed the consequences of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"We have decided to suspend our operations in Russia as a result of the current circumstances on the ground," the spokesman remarked.
Following the announcements on Sunday, a number of other Western companies, including Nike Inc, Ikea of Sweden, and Hermes of France, have closed stores or offices or ceased operations in Russia as trade restrictions and supply constraints have added to political pressure on companies to stop doing business there.
Despite a rule requiring it to distribute state-backed channels, Netflix has previously stated that it had no plans to add state-run channels to its Russian service.
All operations in Russia and Belarus have been halted, according to American Express.
"In light of Russia's ongoing, unlawful aggression against the Ukrainian people," the credit card company stated on its website.
Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two of the Big Four accounting firms, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), announced on Sunday that they will no longer have a member firm in the nation.
KPMG's auditing and consulting firm in Russia and Belarus has announced that it will quit the KPMG network, affecting nearly 4,500 partners and employees in Russia and Belarus.
PwC Russia has also agreed to exit the network. According to the company, it has been operating in Russia for more than 30 years and has 3,700 partners and employees there.
"As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have determined that PwC should not have a member firm in Russia in the current environment, and as a result, PwC Russia will exit the Network," PwC said.
Meanwhile, TikTok -- a Chinese-owned video app -- also announced on Sunday that it would cease live-streaming and video uploads in Russia while it considers the consequences of a new media law signed by Putin on Friday.
