Texas governor asks retailers to remove Russian products

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has asked retailers in the Lone Star State to remove Russian products from their shelves following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Abbott, in a tweet on Saturday, said he asked members of the Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Package Stores Association and other retailers in the state to eliminate Russian goods from their stores.

“Texas stands with Ukraine,” Abbott added.

The governor’s announcement comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine, with troops now moving in on major cities. The invasion, however, has been slowed because of resistance from Ukrainian troops and citizens.

Russia and Ukraine are now set to hold peace talks on the border of Ukraine and Belarus.

Texas is not alone in ordering Russian products to be removed from shelves amid the conflict.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Saturday issued an executive order requiring that the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control eliminate all products produced in and branded by Russia from its shelves immediately. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed a similar order on Saturday. 

Additionally, some bars and liquor stores in the U.S. and Canada are refusing to sell Russian vodka or other Russian products. And in Kansas, a liquor store removed all its Russian vodka from shelves.

The U.S. has already unveiled sanctions against Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine. President Biden on Thursday announced that the U.S. would sanction major Russian banks and impose export controls on the country to restrict its high-tech imports.

On Friday, the White House announced that the U.S. would sanction Putin and other top officials in Moscow.

And on Saturday, it said the U.S. and its allies would cut off certain Russian banks from to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a major international banking system.