Liquor stores and bars in the US and Canada are refusing to sell Russian vodka amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.
Liquor stores in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Newfoundland said they were removing Russian spirits, while Peter Bethlenfalvy, the finance minister of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, directed the Liquor Control Board Of Ontario to withdraw all Russian products, Reuters reports.
“Ontario joins Canada’s allies in condemning the Russian government’s act of aggression against the Ukrainian people, and will direct the [Liquor Control Board of Ontario] to withdraw all products produced in Russia from store shelves,” Bethlenfalvy tweeted.
“The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, along with other Liquor jurisdictions throughout Canada, has made the decision to remove products of Russian origin from its shelves,” NLC Liquor Store tweeted.
Liquor stores and bars in the U.S. are also refusing to sell Russian alcoholic products.
The Jacob Liquor Exchange in Wichita, Kansas, removed more than 100 bottles of Russian vodka from the shelves and poured some of it on the ground.
“I think the whole world knows by now that Russia’s at war with Ukraine for no apparent reason,” Jamie Stratton, wine director and partner of the store, told KSNW-TV in Wichita. “I guess this is our sanction … and this may be small, but every small thing makes a difference.”
Bob Quay, owner of Bob’s Bar in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told MLive.com he pulled several bottles off his shelf as a “protest against the aggression.”
Bill McCormick, owner of Pine Tavern in Bend, Ore., recorded himself pouring out two bottles of Stolichnaya vodka, KPTV reported.
“Russia is acting as though its 1939 and going into Europe with a full force that they have in the Ukraine. I am so concerned about it metastasizing into other countries,” he told the outlet.
