Supermarkets Morrison’s and Co-op have announced they will be pulling Russian-made vodkas from their shelves in Gedling borough as an act of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, following the country’s invasion.
This means that both Morrison’s and Co-op have delisted Russian Standard vodka and will no longer be selling the brand for the foreseeable future.
Other vodkas not made in Russia, such as Swedish Absolut, Latvian Stoli (formerly made in the Soviet Union but no longer tied to Russia), and British-owned Smirnoff, are not affected by the decision.
Wetherspoons also joined in this week, making the announcement that it would no longer sell Russian beer ‘in light of the current situation’.
Wetherspoons has since removed Russian lager Baltika from all 870 of its UK pubs, sending any stock they had previously ordered back to the distributor.
The Willowbrook pub in Gedling also announced this week that Russian vodka would no longer be for sale at the venue.
A spokesperson for the Co-op said: “In response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and as a sign of solidarity with the people of Ukraine we’ve taken the decision to remove from sale Russian-made vodka.”
They added that the decision was taken due to the fact that the brand was “overtly marketed as being Russian” and is produced in the country.
A spokesperson for Morrison’s said: “We have taken action on our vodka lines including de-listing Russian Standard. The product is longer available on our website and no further stock will be bought.”
