British supermarket chain Sainsbury has decided to rename ‘Chicken Kiev’ to ‘Chicken Kyiv’ to support Ukraine amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. According to reports, Sainsbury’s – the UK’s second-biggest supermarket said they would be changing the packaging of the dish to reflect the change in the next few weeks, switching the Soviet-era name for the country’s capital for the Ukrainian version.
Kiev was the standardised spelling of the Ukrainian capital during Soviet rule. However, after its breakdown in 1991, the spelling was changed to ‘Kyiv’, to reflect Ukrainian ethos.
Not only did the chain decide to change the spelling, but also remove all products sourced from Russia. “We stand united with the people of Ukraine. We have reviewed our product range and have decided to remove from sale all products that are 100% sourced from Russia,” a spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said.
The move comes after several vendors in the UK announced a switch to Chicken ‘Kyiv’, including the Better Naked brand and Essex-based Our Local Butcher, and Marks & Spencer. Chicken Kiev, a popular dish across Europe, is chicken breast stuffed with cold herb-infused butter. The marinated chicken is then coated in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs before being deep-fried or baked.
In addition to Chicken Kiev, the supermarket chain will no longer sell two other Russian products – Russian Standard vodka and Karpayskiye black sunflower seeds.”
Sainsbury’s also said it had also reviewed JJ Whitley products, a range of vodkas and other spirits made in Russia.
Meanwhile, other supermarkets such as Waitrose, Aldi and Morrisons have also decided to withdraw Russian-made vodka from their shelves to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
In a statement, Waitrose said that it would not be selling Russian vodka, while its sister department store chain, John Lewis, will take off pizza oven pellets that are sourced from Russia.
Aldi has also decided to remove Russian vodka on Friday after the Co-op and Morrisons decided to boycott the Russian products earlier this week.
