A Ukrainian importer and distributor of wine from the centre of Kyiv has lost €15 million (R250.7 million +) in product after a warehouse in the capital was blown up, presumably by a Russian military attack on the facility.
The senseless hit on the warehouse of Wine Bureau, a client of South African supplier NOMU Brands, is yet another example of how Russian aggression is rippling out beyond Ukraine’s borders, affecting traders across the world.
This morning, via social media, NOMU lamented what has happened to its customers – “solid, reliable, very loyal, lovely people”.
Moreover, the Cape Town-based supplier said: “With the revenue from their orders, we pay South African taxes and employ South Africans.”
The anger from NOMU, particularly after South Africa’s governing party expressed its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is clear from further comments it made on social media.
“The next time anyone is brave enough to defend the ANC’s stance on Russia’s destruction of South African tax revenue derived from trade with Ukraine, ask them to justify tax payment while they can’t afford to pay their own employees. Be sure to add ‘Comrade’ at the end.”
NOMU vented more anger saying: “The ANC stance on Russia is not just criminally inhumane and unconscionable, it is also anti-business and technically harmful to RSA.”
