<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">American sportswear firm Nike is leaving Russia. “NIKE, Inc. has made the decision to leave the Russian marketplace. Our priority is to ensure we are fully supporting our employees while we responsibly scale down our operations over the coming months," it said in an emailed statement to CNN.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Nike’s withdrawal from the Russian market was also shared in its official Russian website.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The withdrawal means that along with stores shutting down, the company's website and mobile app will no longer be available in the country, it added.</div><div><br></div><div>In early March, Nike suspended online and franchised store sales in Russia, but its non-franchised stores continued to work.</div><div><br></div><div>Many other American companies announced similar decisions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Starbucks and McDonald's, for example, had made similar decisions earlier. Several auto, finance, energy and other companies have also announced different levels of changes, pauses or halts in operations in Russia. - CNN</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>