Affected employees at Lego’s Moscow office will be provided with financial support packages while they seek ‘new opportunities’.

Lego has announced that it is stopping all its operations in Russia ‘indefinitely’ following its earlier decision to pause all deliveries to the country.

The moves will mean the closure of 81 Lego stores and the ending of the company’s partnership with Inventive Retail Group, which owned and operated the stores on The Lego Group’s behalf. Around 70 employees at The Lego Group’s Moscow office will also be affected, with the company saying the majority of its workforce there will be cut. In a statement, Lego said it has provided 70 employees with financial packages to support them as they look for new opportunities.

The company was one of several placed on a list in May detailing products that could be imported without the agreement of the intellectual property owner in order to bypass restrictions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine.

The company has not cited the Russia-Ukraine war as its reason for pulling out of the country, instead stating: “Given the continued extensive disruption in the operating environment, we have decided to indefinitely cease commercial operations in Russia.”

A spokeswoman for Inventive Retail Group commented: “We confirm the termination of the contract with Lego. Our company will continue to work as an expert in the category of construction and educational toys.”