STORY: Another major oil company is pulling out of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Shell on Monday joined the likes of BP and Norway's Equinor announcing plans to quit the oil-rich nation.

Shell said the decision to exit the joint ventures it has with Russian gas giant Gazprom would trigger impairment charges.

The British oil company had around $3 billion in non-current assets in the ventures at the end of 2021.

In a Monday statement, CEO Ben van Beurden said:

"We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security."

Shell is also ending its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany.

It helped finance the venture as a part of a consortium of companies.

Last week, Germany halted the project.

Japanese trading houses Mitsui and Mitsubishi, which own stakes in Gazprom's projects, said separately that they are examining Shell's announcement.

They said they would consider the situation with the Japanese government and partners for the project.