Irish building materials group, CRH, is to end its operations in Russia, as Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine continues to escalate.
The company, which is one of Ireland’s largest firms, confirmed the move in a short statement this evening first reported by the Irish Times.
"CRH management, in conjunction with its Board of Directors, took the decision over the weekend to cease operations in Russia and withdraw from the market," it said.
It is understood that the Russian business makes up a very small part of CRH’s overall operations.
According to its website, CRH first entered the Russian market in 1998.
It supplies the Russian building materials market through its Finnish based operating company Rudus.
Rudus operates a concrete panel production plant servicing the city of St. Petersburg.
The company also operates a number of ready mixed concrete plants through LujaBetomix, its joint venture with another large Finnish concrete producer, LujaBetoni.
CRH is also one of the largest cement producers in Ukraine.
It comes as huge numbers of foreign companies with operations in Russia pull back or withdraw completely from Russia, as the war escalates and sanctions begin to have an impact.
