Harley-Davidson Inc. said on Tuesday it had suspended its business and shipments of its bikes to Russia following that country's invasion of Ukraine last week.

The attack marked the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Many Western firms, including General Motors Co. and Germany's Daimler Truck Holding AG, have idled operations in Russia.

Harley did not immediately respond to a request for additional details on the suspension or the size of its operations in Russia.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has been photographed riding Harley-Davidson bikes, and joined a gathering of bikers in Ukraine in 2010.

Europe is Milwaukee-based Harley's 2nd-largest market for retail sales of bikes after the United States.

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Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International, which houses 6 manufacturing facilities and has roughly 2,500 employees in Russia, said its operations were currently running and it would continue to monitor the situation.

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(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan OatisEditing by Vinay Dwivedi and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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