U.S. Governors Tell State-Run Liquor Stores To Stop Selling Russian Vodka

United States governors are calling for all state-run liquor stores to no longer sell Russian vodka.

To stand in solidarity with Ukraine to protest the invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canada and the U.S. are telling liquor stores to stop the sale of Russian vodka. From Las Vegas to Pennsylvania, stores around the country are dropping their Russian liquor vendors, and some stores are swapping them out for Ukrainian liquor companies.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued an executive order on Saturday that ordered the state’s alcoholic beverage control department to remove “remove all Russian-produced and Russian-branded products from its shelves immediately.” Ohio made the same move on Saturday, saying no state-run liquor store is to allow the purchase or sale of Russian Standard vodka, which is “the only overseas, Russian-owned distillery with vodka sold in Ohio.”

In Las Vegas, a bar named Evel Pie announced it now sells shots of Ukrainian liquor, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the assistance of Ukraine. “Our focus first and foremost is helping the Ukrainian people,” managing partner Branden Powers told the Las Vegas Sun, Yahoo! News reports.

Locations in Kansas, Pennsylvania and more have also joined in on the protest of Russian vodka. These moves come after Russian invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, Biden, along with other NATO allies, have enacted sanctions against Russia.