Governors across the United States are requesting that liquor stores and restaurants dump Russian products and bottles of Russian vodka to show support for Ukraine amidst the invasion that is taking place in Eastern Europe by Putin’s forces.
On Thursday, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin officially declaring war on the Eastern European country on Wednesday night, as reported by RSBN.
According to a report from the Daily Wire, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, said he has “asked the members of the Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Package Stores Association & all Texas retailers to voluntarily remove all Russian products from their shelves.”
“Texas stands with Ukraine,” he added.
Additionally, Fox Business reported that Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, asked Ohio retailers to take Russian vodka off their shelves. Gov. DeWine’s tweet stated: “Today I directed @OhioCommerce to cease both the purchase & sale of all vodka made by Russian Standard, the only overseas, Russian-owned distillery with vodka sold in Ohio.”
Further, Fox Business also reported that DeWine would fly the Ukrainian flag at the Ohio Statehouse to support the invaded country.
Gov. Tom Wolfe, D-Pa., requested that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board remove Russian products from stores. At the same time, two other states, Utah and New Hampshire, have had their governors sign executive orders to mandate the removal of Russian-produced or Russian-made products from store shelves, according to a Nexstar report.
Interestingly, while politicians and leaders across America urge the removal of Russian products from shelves, the United States continues to purchase barrels of oil from Putin’s country, increasing Russia’s wealth due to rising oil prices.
President Donald Trump addressed this phenomenon during his speech at CPAC in Orlando, Florida. “This is the only attack in history…the further [Putin] goes…the more money he makes, because oil prices keep climbing higher and higher and higher,” Trump pointed out. “It’s a disincentive for him to disengage.”
As Americans dump Russian vodka, many Americans are rightly wondering if boycotting Russian products will make any difference if the U.S. still purchases as much as 800,000 or more oil barrels annually from Putin.
