Sendle suspends deliveries to Russia and Belarus to “stand in solidarity” with Ukraine

Parcel service Sendle has suspended all deliveries to Russia and Belarus in response to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A statement from the carbon-neutral courier service said: “We stand in solidarity with Ukraine and its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”.

As such, Sendle will no longer be accepting new parcels headed for Russia or neighbouring Belarus, a Russian ally being used as a base for Russian soldiers to enter Ukraine.

The suspension comes into effect as of today.

Parcels already in transit will be delivered, and unsuccessful deliveries will be returned to sender, the company said.

International deliveries to Ukraine have also been temporarily suspended by Sendle’s delivery partner, due to flight cancellations and airspace closures, as well as safety concerns.

“With safety a top priority, we support this move by our international delivery partner,” the company said.

Sendle managing director Laura Hill noted the suspension may affect small businesses sending parcels to Russia and Belarus, but said “we must stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, who face human suffering and the destruction of their homes and livelihoods”.

“Our thoughts are with the vulnerable women, children and elderly, who are fleeing Ukraine into neighbouring countries, and the brave men and women who have remained to defend their home,” she added.

The news from B-Corp Sendle comes as businesses and organisations around the world boycott Russian products. In Australia, Dan Murphy’s and BWS have pulled Russian drinks from their shelves.

Tech giant Apple has also announced it has stopped all product sales in Russia, and limited access to Apple Pay and other services.

Apple has also removed Russian news services RT News and Sputnik News from app stores outside of Russia, halted exports to Russian sales channels and disabled traffic and live incident reports in the Apple Maps app in Ukraine.