In what is another bite out of the Russian economy, McDonald’s announced it would temporarily shutter its 850 stores in Russia in response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

“For 66 years, we have operated with the belief that communities are made better when there’s a McDonald’s nearby,” said McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempckinski in an email to the franchisees and 62,000 employees in Russia. The employees will continue to be paid, he said, as they “have poured their heart and soul into our McDonald’s brand.”

“Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine,” said Kempckinski.

McDonald’s has “donated $5 million to our Employee Assistance Fund, and continue to support relief efforts led by the International Red Cross in the region,” according to Kempckinski.

The move adds to McDonald’s symbolic role in Russian history as a McDonald’s first opened in the Former Soviet Union in 1990, toward the end of the Cold War, in what was a demonstration of economic liberalization and a taste of the Free World.

McDonald’s joins a growing list of countries cutting their loses in Russia including Microsoft, Disney, and Mercedes Benz to name just a few.

Watch above, via MSNBC.

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