John Deere has suspended its shipments of machinery to Russia amid the country's ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

In a statement, the machinery giant said: "John Deere is deeply saddened by the significant escalation of events in Ukraine.

"The safety, welfare, and well-being of our employees in the region remain our top priority, and we continue to support and maintain close communication with our affected teams, providing necessary resources when possible.

"Our thoughts are with our employees, their families as well as our dealers, customers and all those impacted by this crisis," the statement continued.

John Deere suspends shipments

Two weeks ago, John Deere suspended shipments of machines to Russia and then subsequently, Belarus.

"We continue to monitor the situation closely while we fully abide by US and international sanctions," the statement from the company outlined.

"The John Deere Foundation has additionally been working directly with a number of organisations, including multiple UN [United Nations] agencies, to mobilise resources to support Ukrainians impacted by the crisis.

"Our mission is, and always has been, to help our customers feed the world," the company added.

Other exports to Russia

Meanwhile, last week dairies in the European Union (EU) were being called on to stop exporting to Russia and, instead, send their products to Ukraine as emergency relief.

The call came from the European Milk Board, which has strongly condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

In a statement, the milk board said it wants an immediate end to the war in Ukraine and pledged the support of farmers from the EU from those impacted by the invasion.