Proclaiming that “continuing to operate in Russia is not tenable,” the CEO of one of the major partners in the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project said Jan. 17 that the oil and gas independent will exit Russia entirely.

Wintershall will take a one-time 5.3 billion euro non-cash loss as a result of its departure. This involves the company’s Russian joint ventures and impairments from Nord Stream AG and the WIGA Group midstream business.

“Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is incompatible with our values and has destroyed cooperation between Russia and Europe,” Wintershall Dea CEO Mario Mehren said announcing the decision.

The company wrote off about 1 billion euros of financing for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on March 2, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At that time, Wintershall said it would not pursue additional oil and gas production projects in Russia and would halt planning new projects and payments to Russia.

“We are prepared for this difficult moment,” Mehren said. “We have been prudently building up financial flexibility and maintained high discipline regarding our spending levels. We are diversifying our portfolio, with an aim of modest future growth of our business outside Russia.”