(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. said it’s suspending operations in Russia, joining companies across the world in pulling back following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The automaker told its joint-venture partners that it’s halting work immediately, according to a statement Tuesday. Ford had already been winding down its Russian operations, which today consist of commercial van manufacturing and Russian sales through a minority interest in the Sollers Ford joint venture, the company said.

“As part of the global community, Ford is deeply concerned about the invasion of Ukraine and the resultant threats to peace and stability,” the company said in the statement. “The situation has compelled us to reassess our operations in Russia.”

Ford had said in 2019 it was closing three factories in Russia, pulling out of a car market where it was once a pioneer as part of a broader overhaul of its money-losing European operations. That decision was made as an economic slowdown and western sanctions dimmed the outlook for what many automakers had long seen as a key growth market.

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