American company McDonald's announced the beginning of the process of selling its Russian business, which includes 850 restaurants, which employ 62,000 people.

This was reported by Bloomberg.

The fast-food giant pointed to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, saying that keeping its business in Russia "is inexpedient and does not meet McDonald's values.

The company announced in early March that it was temporarily closing its restaurants in Russia, but would continue to pay employees' salaries. It said Monday that it would seek a Russian buyer to hire those employees and would pay them until the sale was complete.

CEO Chris Kempczynski said the "commitment and loyalty of McDonald's" employees and hundreds of Russian suppliers make the decision to exit difficult.

"However, we have a commitment to our global community, and we have to remain steadfast in our values, and our commitment to our values means we can no longer maintain shining arches there," Kempczynski said.

McDonald's said it plans to begin removing the golden arches and other symbols and signage under the company's name. The company said it will keep its trademarks in Russia.

McDonald's restaurants in Ukraine have closed, but the company said it continues to pay full salaries to its employees.