Sainsbury's renames 'Chicken Kiev' to 'Chicken Kyiv' in solidarity with Ukraine

Sainsbury's renames 'Chicken Kiev' to 'Chicken Kyiv' in solidarity with Ukraine
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Gareth Milner

By Gareth Milner


Published: 04/03/2022

- 13:21

Updated: 04/03/2022

- 13:33

Russian Standard vodka will also be withdrawn from the retailer's stores

Sainsbury’s is renaming Chicken Kievs to match the Ukrainian spelling of the country’s capital while JD Sports has become the latest British retailer to pull out of Russia after it launched the war in Ukraine.

The supermarket chain said it would start rolling out new packaging in the coming weeks using Chicken Kyiv, rather than the Russian spelling Kiev.


It will also stop selling all products that are sourced purely from Russia, although it only sells two Russian products.

Sainsbury’s shoppers will no longer be able to buy Russian Standard vodka and Karpayskiye black sunflower seeds when the products are removed from shelves.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "We stand united with the people of Ukraine. We have reviewed our product range and have decided to remove from sale all products that are 100% sourced from Russia.

"This means that from today we will no longer sell two products - Russian Standard vodka and Karpayskiye black sunflower seeds.

"We have also reviewed all JJ Whitley products which are currently made in Russia. We support their announcement earlier in the week that they are moving all production to Chorley in the UK by the end of this month and will therefore continue to sell those products.

"We are also re-naming 'Chicken Kiev' to 'Chicken Kyiv' and the new packaging will be available in the coming weeks.

"To support the humanitarian crisis, and as announced earlier this week, we are donating £2 million to our long-term partner Comic Relief. This money will go directly to support the crisis in Ukraine via a range of measures including distributing care packages and ensuring there are child protection measures in place, donating essential supplies to the reception centres as well as medical, legal and trauma support."

On Friday JD Sports also announced plans to withdraw from Russia, following other clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.

The move is largely symbolic as the business only makes 0.05% of its sales in Russia through its website and wholesale partners.

It also has no sites or employees in either Russia or Ukraine.

“Everyone at JD is shocked and deeply concerned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expresses the utmost sympathy for all Ukrainians,” the company said.

It added: “The conflict in Ukraine continues to generate grave concern and we look forward to reconciliation and the return to peace within the region.”

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