The company’s board of directors said in a statement to shareholders, staff and customers that it was “calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict.”
“We express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy. We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy,” the board added.
Lukoil shares listed in London have lost roughly 99% of their value following the invasion. Dealing in the company’s stock was suspended on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska also broke with the Kremlin and called for an end to the war. Fridman, who was born in western Ukraine, wrote in a letter to staff that he wanted the “bloodshed to end.”
Fridman is chairman of Alfa Group, a private conglomerate operating primarily in Russia and former Soviet states that spans banking, insurance, retail and mineral water production.
The billionaire is also chairman of Alfa Bank, Russia’s fourth biggest financial services firm and its largest private bank. Alfa Bank was hit last week by sanctions that will prevent it from raising money through the US market.
Deripaska, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2018, made his fortune in aluminum.
— Kunyi Yang contributed reporting.
Source : Nbcnewyork