French drinks giant Pernod Ricard has indicated that it has decided to end exports of Jameson whiskey to Russia.
The company had resumed limited shipments of the Irish whiskey brand as well as Beefeater gin at the end of last year, a move that has been widely criticised.
Activists staged a protest at the Dublin headquarters of Pernod Ricard yesterday, calling on Jameson's parent companies Irish Distillers and Pernod Ricard to reverse their decision.
"We just wanted to bring to their attention that it does reflect badly on them to be making that decision, and we're highlighting to them that the public is noticing that and the public doesn't like that," said Anatoliy Primakov, Co Founder of Ukrainian Action.
"Hopefully, they will get the message because it is not too late for them to say, 'Look we see that a lot of people are unhappy and we will be reversing this decision and we won't be tarnishing our brand and Ireland's reputation by continuing doing business with Russia."
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In a statement, the drinks company said the reality of exiting Russia is "both complex and extremely challenging".
"We are working hard to find the best way to navigate this complexity, including stopping the export of our international brands while ensuring the welfare and safety of our team considering the local legal constraints."
It is not clear when Pernod Ricard plans to stop exporting its brands to Russia.
The drinks firm reversed a decision to resume exports of Absolut vodka to Russia last week after a public backlash in Sweden.
The decision to resume exports of its brands in the first place has been damaging to those brands, according to Padraig McKeon, an independent communications adviser and lecturer at DCU.
"Unfortunately for business in the modern environment, it's not just about the core business that they are involved in, their reputation is also dependent on how stakeholders and people in society see their attitude to other issues in society."
Mr McKeon said he does not believe it will be possible for any firm to legitimately go back and do business in Russia while the war continues.
"Realistically probably not," he said. "Society has decided where the right and the wrong sits, broadly speaking in international terms, and that is going to have an effect for probably decades to come, so at this point in time it would be very difficult for an organisation to go back into Russia without considering the wider implications for how its organisation is perceived, how it's brands are perceived."
