Russia-Ukraine war: French bank Credit Agricole suspends all activities in Russia

As western countries are mounting pressure on Russia over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine that has entered its 28th day on Wednesday, French bank Crédit Agricole has announced that it is suspending all operations in Moscow. Notably, Crédit Agricole, which is one of the largest French banks, has decided to completely suspend its activities in Russia over President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch an aggressive military operation against neighboring Ukraine.

Notably, Crédit Agricole has taken this decision to support Ukraine. "The action of solidarity is primarily dedicated to the population of Ukraine and its Ukrainian employees affected by the war," the bank statement read. Meanwhile, the European Organisation for Satellite Meteorology, EUMESTAT, has also stopped sharing meteorological data with Russia. However, this can play a crucial role in the planning of chemical or biological attacks.

Other banks that seized all activities in Russia

Earlier, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank had also announced the withdrawal of all operations in Russia after the country's invasion of Ukraine. The US-based Citibank had the largest presence in Russia, with an estimated asset value of $10 billion. "We have now decided to expand the scope of that exit process to include other lines of business and continue to reduce our remaining operations and exposure," said the head of global public affairs, Edward Skyler. Earlier, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan had also announced suspension of all activities in Russia. 

Russia-Ukraine war

As the war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified with Russian forces continuously bombarding Ukrainian cities and killing their citizens, Ukraine has now claimed that President Vladimir Putin's military forces do not want to continue this war. Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed that less than 10% of Russian forces were willing to continue the war and the rest of the personnel are killed, wounded, sick, or demoralised. Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Russian troops are destroying food warehouses in Ukraine to push the civilian population to the brink of starvation.

(Image: AP)