Is there a difference between a hamburger and a pill?
Over 320 American and European companies have now suspended their business operations in Russia. Consumers in Moscow and other Russian cities can no longer purchase iPhones, order their favorite Starbucks latte, or enjoy a Big Mac.

But they can purchase medicines and fill their prescriptions at pharmacies like the one in today’s picture. They can do this because western pharmaceutical companies are currently exempt from U.S. and European sanctions.

Executives from big pharma giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer argue that they have an ethical responsibility to continue supplying drugs, vaccines, and medical equipment to their Russian patients. The Chief Financial Officer at Johnson & Johnson defended his company’s position by arguing, “If our products don’t get to the patients in need, people will die or have severe consequences.”

The reluctance of drug makers to suspend their Russian operations has met with a chorus of criticism. Yale business professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld has denounced the continuing sale of health care products to Russia as “misguided” and “deplorable.” He argues, “If we continue to make life palatable for them [Russians] then we are continuing to support the regime.”