The Walt Disney Company announced Monday that it is pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming Turning Red from Pixar,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
The company said it will make business decisions as the situation evolves.
“In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees,” the spokesperson said.
Russia’s military assault on Ukraine began six days ago, sending families and children huddling in underground subway stations or heading for the borders as Russian shelling pounded the country.
Since the attack began, the fighting has only intensified on the ground.
About 660,000 people have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries since the invasion began, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Russia to cripple its economy and nations have pledged to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT bank messaging system.
Like Disney, major companies are also responding.
General Motors said it was halting shipments to Russia, and Harley-Davidson said it has suspended its business in the country, Bloomberg reported.
Mastercard and Visa also said they’ve blocked certain Russian activity from their networks.
FIFA banned Russian teams from games.
Netflix said it won’t comply with a regulation to carry Russian state programming in that country, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some American bars and regulators are also either calling for or boycotting Russian vodka.
The governors of Utah and New Hampshire have ordered government-run liquor stores to pull Russian-vodka from the shelves.