LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is still raging on.
And while it may be thousands of miles away, some liquor stores here in Little Rock are supporting Ukraine.
At Colonial Wine and Spirits, that support is being seen right on aisle three.
"We can't tolerate what they're up against, it's just... inexcusable," Henrik Thostrup, co-owner of Colonial Wine and Spirits, said. "If we can just take Russian products off our shelves to help eliminate supporting the Russian nation right now, that's what we'll do."
They're specifically pulling two bottles made and imported from Russia.
"If we can do anything at all to bring this war to an end because we boycott the Russian economy, all the more power to everyone who's involved in it," Thostrup said.
He wants to be clear that while these bottles have Russian ties, it's not the people of Russia they're trying to hurt-- it's President Vladimir Putin.
"We definitely don't want to penalize someone who has nothing to do with this war," Thostrup said.
This even extends to bottles that could be misconstrued as Russian.
Now, signs are under many bottles, telling people where the alcohol is from. Many of those bottles are from countries that are part of NATO or the EU.
Now in total, there are four bottles that are no longer being imported into Arkansas:
- Russian Standard
- Beluga
- Green Mark Vodka
- Russian Value
So while this is a gesture of solidarity, enough support could make this trickle back to Russia.
"One, that we're sending a signal. Two, we hopefully make a difference," Scott Hardin, spokesperson for the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) said.
The group is responsible for stopping the import of the Russian vodkas.
"At this point, it's open ended," Hardin said. "Think it's safe to say it'll be in place as long as the conflict is in place."
That's something that owners like Thostrup is okay with. They said that this is something they will do as long as they need to.
Thostrup said this is an act of solidarity and that the money they may lose isn't what's important.
"If we can suffer those consequences, when we look at what the Ukrainian population is suffering right now... we would be pretty sorry," he said.
In regards to other Russian products imported to the Natural State, that number is relatively small, totaling around $8 million a year.
Arkansas exports around $64 million of goods to Russia.