US-based multinational beverage corporation the Coca-Cola Company announced Tuesday that it has suspended business in Russia amid its war on Ukraine.

"Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve.”

Earlier, US-based multinational coffeehouse chain Starbucks Corporation announced it has suspended all business activity in Russia, including all product shipments.

The number of Western companies pulling out of Russia is increasing as the war in Ukraine continues./aa

Amazon Web Services announced on Tuesday that it is not accepting any new customers in Russia and Belarus.

Amazon's cloud computing division said in an updated statement its biggest customers in Russia "are companies who are headquartered outside of the country and have some development teams there." It did not specify a rationale for the decision.

Several western and US firms, including McDonald's, Starbucks and Coca-Cola, have announced their departure from Russia over its ongoing war in Ukraine.

Russia's war on Ukraine has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

The West has also imposed biting export restrictions on key technologies that are now prohibited from being sent to Russia.

At least 406 civilians have been killed and 801 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while also noting that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency./aa

France welcomed 5,000 Ukrainians and will launch a sponsorship program to enable French families to provide accommodation to fleeing Ukrainian refugees, the government announced Tuesday. 

Premier Jean Castex, who visited the Porte de la Chapelle reception center in Paris, expressed concern about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and said the number of refugees arriving in France "is increasing rapidly."

Since Feb. 25, border police have allowed 5,000 people to enter France and many more are likely to follow, he said, while announcing the launch of the “I am committed to Ukraine” program. 

Junior Minister for Citizenship Marlene Schiappa told FranceInfo news that French families can join the program to host Ukrainian families in their homes.

“The outpouring of generosity is immense. That is why we are launching this platform,” she said.

The program will benefit entire families as well as mothers or fathers who are traveling alone with children.

In some cases there are minors who cross the borders on their own, she said.

Schiappa, who is overseeing the initiative, said the rules reserved for asylum seekers will be relaxed for Ukrainians arriving without passports.

“Humanity does not mean adding formalities to formalities,” she said, adding that such families will receive “social support” and their “children will go to school.”

She said Ukrainians will be awarded “refugee status" for up to one year which can be renewed twice and they will receive "a work permit" as well as allowance given to asylum seekers.

The government has not set a limit on a maximum number of Ukrainian refugees but set a goal to ensure “that every Ukrainian who arrives must be able to have housing,” according to Schiappa.

France follows stringent rules for asylum seekers. Rights organizations have claimed that foreign migrants and refugees, including minors, who arrive in France without a passport and valid papers, known as irregulars, are deported fraudulently by police across borders in Spain or Italy.

Only a few receive asylum following an exhaustive verification process during which they are forced to camp in makeshift accommodation in public parks, on the sides of the road because of the lack of official housing facilities.

Paris and Calais are filled with thousands of refugees who are subjected to daily evictions, harassment and attacks from police.

Several NGOs have denounced the government's unequal treatment vis-a-vis Ukrainians and non-European refugees from African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries./aa

Russia’s governing football body appealed Tuesday to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the country was excluded from FIFA and UEFA competitions because of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. 

CAS said it registered the appeals of the Football Union of Russia (FUR) against the decisions Feb. 28 of FIFA and UEFA as the top regulatory authorities governing global and European football suspended Russian clubs and national teams from international competitions until further notice.

The decisions affected the men's and women's national teams as well as Russian club Spartak Moscow.

Russia will be ineligible to play Poland on March 24 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification playoffs.

On the women's side, the country cannot join the UEFA EURO 2022 in England on July 6 - 31 if UEFA does not reverse its decision.

Spartak Moscow were disqualified from the 2021-22 UEFA Europa League Round of 16 after UEFA barred Russian clubs from international football competitions.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 474 civilians have been killed and 861 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while noting that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency./aa

Russia has become the world's most sanctioned country due to its war on Ukraine, according to recent data.

Moscow has been subjected to 2,778 new sanctions in just under two weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, bringing the total to 5,532, according to the global sanctions monitoring database Castellum.ai.

In comparison, Iran has faced 3,616 sanctions, followed by Syria and North Korea, with 2,608 and 2,077 sanctions respectively.

Venezuela, with 651 sanctions, Myanmar with 510 sanctions, and Cuba with 208 sanctions are among the list of the countries most sanctioned in the world.

The country with the most sanctions against Moscow is Switzerland, with 568.

It is followed by the European Union with 518 sanctions, France with 512 sanctions, Canada with 454 sanctions and Australia with 413 sanctions. The US has imposed 243 sanctions against Russia so far.

The sanctions include 2,427 individuals, 343 organizations, six ships and two aircraft.

Putin said Saturday that Western sanctions against Russia were akin to a declaration of war.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia. The West has also imposed biting export restrictions on key technologies that are now prohibited from being sent to Russia.

At least 406 civilians have been killed and 801 others injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to UN figures. But the international body has maintained that conditions on the ground have made it "difficult to verify" the true number of civilian casualties.

More than 1.7 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said./aa

US stocks closed sharply lower Monday as Russia's war on Ukraine drove oil prices up, raising concerns over further increases in inflation.

A third round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine concluded Monday with “small positive” developments on the issue of humanitarian corridors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 797.4 points, or 2.37%, to close at 32,817. The S&P 500 lost 127.78 points, or 2.95%, to 4,201.

The Nasdaq posted the largest decline, down 482.5 points, or 3.62%, to finish at 12,830.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, soared 14.20% to 36.52.

The dollar index meanwhile increased 0.53% to 99.19.

Precious metals prices rose as safe haven assets, with gold adding 1.77% to $2,001 per ounce and silver rising 0.11% to $25.82.

Oil prices hit new historical highs during the day over concerns of a possible ban on Russian oil.

Brent crude oil reached $139.13 a barrel, its highest level since July 2008, and was trading at $123.8 per barrel, jumping 4.81%.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $120.14, gaining 3.86%./aa