A woman holds a tray laden with food from McDonald's at one of the chain's Moscow locations
A woman carrying a tray of food at a McDonald's restaurant in Moscow on Wednesday.Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images
  • Fans of McDonald's in Russia have scrambled to get one last meal at the fast-food chain.
  • Videos shared online show a long line of cars outside one outlet, while photos show crowds inside another.
  • McDonald's is temporarily closing its restaurants in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Long queues formed at McDonald's restaurants in Moscow on Wednesday ahead of the iconic fast-food chain's temporary closure of its outlets across Russia.

Footage shared on social media appeared to show cars lined up outside McDonald's outlets in Moscow and Russians wrapped in winter clothing queueing inside the restaurants.

Crowded McDonald's in Moscow
A crowd seen inside a McDonald's outlet in Moscow on Wednesday night.Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images

A day earlier, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski announced in a memo that the company would be closing its nearly 850 restaurants in the country indefinitely, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

Russia's first McDonald's outlet opened 32 years ago in Moscow's Pushkin Square, a move that was widely seen as a sign of the Soviet Union's impending collapse and the thawing of Cold War relations, per Reuters. 

People seen lining up on the opening day of Russia's first McDonald's outlet, located in Moscow's Pushkin Square, on January 31, 1990.
People seen lining up outside Russia's first McDonald's outlet, located in Moscow's Pushkin Square, on January 31, 1990.Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press file photo

Kempczinski said it was "impossible to predict" at this stage when McDonald's would reopen its restaurants, but said the company would "closely monitor the situation." The chain will continue to pay its 62,000 staff in Russia during the closure.

Several other global food brands such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola also announced on Tuesday that they would suspend their operations in Russia, aligning themselves with heavy sanctions imposed by Western governments in response to the war in Ukraine.

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