McDonald’s is to permanently quit Russia over the Ukraine war, the company has revealed today.
Citing the ongoing ‘humanitarian crisis’ caused in the region by the conflict, McDonald’s has now said that it will be selling off all of its restaurants in the country and ‘de-Arching’ the new owners to remove all and any remaining brand ties.
Whilst many companies have announced temporary sanctions on Russia. this move by McDonald’s makes it one of just a handful of global brands to permanently pull out of the country in protest of the war.
When bosses initially shut down operations on 8 March following the initial invasion, the measures were only intended to be temporary.
Now, the company has said its position in Russia is ‘no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values’.
In spite of this, it has emerged that McDonald’s still plans to look after its 62,000 Russian staff and has promised that they will continue to have jobs with the stores’ new owners as part of any future deal.
The company has also pledged to keep paying its Russian staff until new agreements are signed.
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CEO Chris Kempzcinski said that the Russian staff’s dedication and loyalty to McDonald’s ‘make today’s announcement extremely difficult’, adding that he was ‘exceptionally proud’ of them.
‘However, we have a commitment to our global community and must remain steadfast in our values.
‘And our commitment to our values means that we can no longer keep the Arches shining there.’
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By writing off all of its assets in Russia, the company will instantly lose £1.2 billion, it said in a statement, adding that it expects ‘significant losses’ as it also has to sell all of its assets in roubles.
In a private document obtained by The New York Times, Mr Kempzcinski admitted the move would have ‘profound consequences’ on employees, franchises and suppliers.
He said: “Some might argue that providing access to food and continuing to employ tens of thousands of ordinary citizens is surely the right thing to do.
“But it is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
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“And it is impossible to imagine the Golden Arches representing the same hope and promise that led us to enter the Russian market 32 years ago.”
He reportedly added: “In the history of McDonald’s, it was one of our proudest and most exciting milestones.
“After nearly half a century of Cold War animosity, the image of the Golden Arches shining above Pushkin Square heralded for many, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, the beginning of a new era.”
Trains from Manchester ‘extremely limited’ amid record heatwave
Daisy Jackson
‘Extremely limited’ train services are running across the North West this week as the country melts in a record-breaking heatwave.
Northern has reached out to passengers to warn that a ‘significantly reduced’ number of trains are operating in and out of Manchester.
They’re urging people to avoid travelling at all unless your journey is ‘absolutely essential’.
And if you do have to travel, they’ve warned of ‘significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations’.
The disruption is set to continue all day today and into tomorrow, Friday 26 June, as temperatures up north are forecast to hit 34ºC and an Amber weather warning for extreme heat covers much of the country.
Northern has assured passengers that they ‘are doing everything we can to keep people moving as efficiently as possible’.
Passengers are encouraged to check their journey before setting off, carry water, and avoid peak times where possible.
If you chose not to take a planned journey, you can claim a full refund on your ticket, or travel on another day using Northern’s ticket easement.
Trains from Manchester ‘extremely limited’ amid record heatwave. Credit: Northern
You can see the full travel advice for Northern HERE.
Avanti has issued a similar message, reducing one train per hour on the London-Manchester route and offering refunds for tickets booked for Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 or Friday 26 June.
You can also use those tickets to travel flexibly any time up to and including Tuesday 30 June.
Northern said in a notice to passengers: “Due to the continued extreme heat, we have significantly reduced the number of trains running on routes in and out of Manchester, and services remain in high demand. This will now continue into Friday, 26 June.
“We strongly recommend customers consider whether their journey is necessary and if customers do choose to travel this week, they are advised to prepare for significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations.
“We would ask all customers to only travel if your journey is absolutely essential and to check your full journey before setting off.”
Here’s our petition for ‘Wonderwall’ to become England’s new football anthem
Danny Jones
All things considered, England have made a great start to the 2026 World Cup, pitching themselves as one of the great entertainers this tournament, and the scenes of the supporters and players alike serenading an entire stadium with ‘Wonderwall’ after the full-time whistle gave us chills.
So why not time for a change?
After all, that feels a lot like what this World Cup squad is about: a new manager, new teammates, not clinging to the previous ways of playing – and perhaps it’s time to put ‘Sweet Caroline’ to one side.
Now, we’re by no means saying that we’re ‘done’ with the Neil Diamond anthem that has been reborn as a Three Lions anthem, but look at how good it was watching England belting out Oasis with the fans.
“Today is gonna be the day that England beat Croatia 4-2”, as BBC’s Match of the Day cleverly quipped.
Obviously, we’re biased as Mancs, but we also think there’s something special about having that particular track feel so good to hear again.
As much as we love Oasis, for a long time, it felt like we couldn’t enjoy arguably their biggest-ever single anywhere near as much as we once did.
We assume it’s something akin to hearing ‘Mr Brightside’ non-stop for what felt like millennia, and in truth, hearing those repetitions of “ba, ba, ba… SO GOOD, SO GOOD!” over and over again at sporting fixtures beyond just national team games has taken the magic out of it at times.
Perhaps it’s just a case of saturation in certain settings and songs simply being overplayed – FIFA’s co-hosts over in the US certainly helped see to that when it came to ‘Wonderwall’ for a long time.
On the other hand, it feels like we’ve now come full circle; singing those famous lyrics at the top of our lungs in a sea of Mancs and fans travelling from all over to Heaton Park for Live ’25 last year felt better than ever, and like we’d all remembered how great a tune it’s always been. So did this…
In fact, this felt so emotional that you’ve got people who aren’t even English praising both those on the pitch and up in the stands for the moment online.
Even the admittedly rather American Man vs Food himself, Adam Richman (though he does have British ancestry), felt compelled to write a moving response on social media: “Shut up. You’re the one that’s crying. Bravo, England.”
He’s far from the only one who was left bowled over by the atmosphere – us included.
What do you think? Is it time for a new go-to tournament anthem for the Three Lions moving forward?
Georgina Pellant -
16th May 2022 
