Moscow-headquartered Lukoil, Russia’s second largest multinational energy company, called for an end of armed conflict in Ukraine on Thursday, becoming one of Russia's first domestic companies to speak out against the invasion.

The board of directors of PJSC Lukoil said in a statement on the company’s website before it went offline that it “expresses its concern over the ongoing tragic events in Ukraine, and its deepest sympathy to all those affected by this tragedy”.

“We stand for an early end to the armed conflict and fully support its resolution through negotiations and diplomatic means,” the statement said.