Ukraine's National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has added Mars and PepsiCo corporations to the list of "war sponsors". The inclusion of organizations is due to the fact that they still conduct their business in Russia.

“Despite statements about the reduction of their business, the termination of advertising activities and the production of their products, they continue to work in Russia,” the agency said in a statement.

Mars and PepsiCo produce sweets, chips and carbonated soft drinks under the brands Lay`s, Pepsi, Sandora, Snickers, M&M`s, Twix, Mirinda.

According to the agency, PepsiCo has 19 factories in Russia, 20,000 employees and 40,000 agricultural workers. In 2022, the net profit of the PepsiCo division in Russia grew by 333%. In addition, according to the agency, Lay`s chips were handed over to Russian soldiers in food rations. Mars, as indicated by the agency, invested $2.5 billion in the Russian economy. In 2022, its revenue grew to $2.45 billion, net profit - by 59%. The company paid $93 million to the budget.

The list of “war sponsors” has already included the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank, the American Procter & Gamble, the French Leroy Merlin, the French network Auchan, the Hungarian OTP bank, the Bacardi company, the Chinese Alibaba, as well as the tobacco manufacturers Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco.