"To me, it sounds as cynical as possible: by earning and paying excise taxes in the aggressor country, the manufacturer is trying to expand production and sales of its products in Ukraine," she stated.

Bulach emphasized that the Ukrainian government should respond decisively by stopping the company's investments in the Ukrainian economy.

"We have to make a decision and ban any development, and possibly distribution, of the products of these two tobacco companies in Ukraine," she summarized.

As Ukrinform reported, the NACP has added Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, the world's leading tobacco companies, to the list of international sponsors of war, as they continue to do business in Russia.