LAKELAND, Fla. — Since the invasion of Ukraine last week, the United States and other western countries initiated a series of sanctions meant to cripple the Russian economy.
The sanctions now have Russian President Vladimir Putin on the defensive against inflation, curtailing the country's ability to bank internationally.
Now, independent restaurants and stores across the U.S. are getting into the fight to do their part to show their support for Ukraine.
Last weekend, football legend-turned-South Florida restaurateur Joe Namath and his business partner removed all of their Russian vodka from their Charlie & Joe's at Love Street restaurant in Jupiter.
Publix is the latest Florida-based business to announce they have pulled Russian-made vodka brands from their liquor store shelves.
The grocery store chain, based in Lakeland, Florida, made the announcement Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Maria Brous said Publix made the decision in an effort to show that the grocer stands with the people of Ukraine and opposes the Russian invasion.
Brous said that in Publix's Thursday sales advertisement, there will be a Russian-made vodka featured.
Their sale circulars were printed weeks in advance, and due to that timeline, they were unable to pull the product from their printed version of the circular. However, Publix has removed the ad from the online version.
"No Russian-made vodka will be available for sale even though they will appear in the printed ad," Brous said.
Total Wine & More, which has multiple locations in Florida, tweeted Monday that they have removed all Russian-made products from their shelves.
Since the sanctions against Russia began, the country's central bank has been left unable to tap foreign reserves amid the ruble's steep decline.