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STORY: AB InBev’s European chief Jason Warner said the production of the Chernigivske lager would allow people in Belgium and elsewhere to discover a popular Ukrainian product, while helping the war-torn country.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has halted beer production at its three breweries in Ukraine because of the war, which began after Russia launched what it calls a "special operation" on Feb. 24.

The Chernigivske beer originates in Chernihiv, a city in the north of Ukraine that suffered heavy shelling and missile strikes earlier in the war before Russian forces shifted their focus towards eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Belgium, Oleg Shamshur, attended the roll-out of the first cans at AB InBev’s large brewery in Leuven on Friday and welcomed the launch as a way of showcasing Ukrainian products to the world.

“Maybe even more importantly it would have a symbolic meaning in the sense that people who are drinking Chernigivske will think of Chernihiv, the city which was attacked by the Russians and which resisted the Russian invasion,” he told Reuters TV.