Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, February 28 (TMTPOST) — International cab-hailing giant Uber said on Monday that it would remove the company’s three Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX) executive on the board of its joint venture with the Russian company.

The decision came as more Western companies distance themselves from Russia amid the country’s all-out war against Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Yandex is also facing pressure as Nasdaq has halted the trading of it stocks amid the U.S. stock echanges's move to comply with the economic sanctions against Russia. The sanctions, which were adopted last week in respone to Russia's invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, prohibited Russian firms from raising money in the U.S. capital markets.

It is reported that Uber does not hold a stake in Yandex now. Uber sold all of its holdings in the delivery and autonomous units of Yandex last year and slashed its stake in the joint venture Yandex.Taxi mobility business to about 29%. The joint venture was valued at around US$800 million. Both Uber and Yandex hold a 29% stake in the joint venture.

"We are actively looking for opportunities to accelerate the sale of our remaining holdings and, in the meantime, will remove our executives from the board of the joint venture," a spokesperson for Uber said.

Yandex bought a majority stake in several joint ventures it started with Uber, including Yandex.Eats, Yandex.Lavka and Yandex.Delivery. Uber’s holdings of MLU BV, a company that focuses on cab hailing, shared cars and scooter rental, were also slashed.

Yandex had expressed its interest in taking full control of Yandex.Taxi ride-hailing service to boost investment in online services.

The three executives from Yandex have resigned and will be replaced a non-executive representative, who will help oversee the exit process.

It is worth noting that Uber suspended its operation in nine cities in Ukraine.

Uber merged its business operation in Russia and its neighboring countries with Yandex in 2018. Uber’s operation in the region was valued at US$3.8 billion.