Arla Foods said it is making advanced preparations to work with humanitarian organisations to provide food aid to Ukraine and its refugees, in the form of dairy products for families with children and infants, so that it can be provided immediately when the aid is needed.
The cooperative is also donating €1 million (£820,000) to the Red Cross’ support programme for Ukraine, acknowledging that there is a need for financial support right now.
While their Russian business is a very small part in the total business, the firm declared that any profits that will come from it this year will be redirected to the humanitarian support to Ukraine.
“This war and its consequences for Ukraine and its people are horrific. On behalf of our colleagues and farmer owners, this is a way that we can provide practical help and do our bit to make sure that those affected by this war will not need to go hungry,” Peder Tuborgh, Arla Foods chief executive, said.
“We will be working with Red Cross and other organisations that provide this important form of aid.”
The conflict has pushed more than 1.5 million people across Ukraine's borders as refugees, though many others are displaced internally or trapped in cities being reduced to rubble by Russian bombardment.
Twelve days of fighting have killed hundreds of civilians and wounded thousands. An unending stream of people - mostly women and children - has poured into neighbouring countries in what the UN calls Europe's fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.
Brian McLister