(Bloomberg) — BP Plc moved to dump its shares in oil giant Rosneft PJSC, taking a financial hit of as much as $25 billion by joining the campaign to isolate Russia’s economy.
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The surprise move from the British company is the latest sign of how far Western powers are willing to go to punish President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. BP has been in Russia for three decades and just weeks ago was staunchly defending its presence there.
But it was coming under growing pressure from the U.K. government over the alliance with Rosneft. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney was summoned by U.K. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to explain the company’s Russian links last week. Kwarteng welcomed the move on Sunday.
“This military action represents a fundamental change,” BP Chairman Helge Lund said in a statement. “It has led the BP board to…
