Watch: Russians queue up at McDonald's outlets as it exits the country

''It will be bad without McDonald's. I celebrated all of my birthdays here during the 1990s'', that's what a Moscow resident had to say ahead of McDonald's nationwide exit.

More than three decades after it became the first American fast food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union, McDonald's is selling its business to a Russian fast-food chain called Uncle Vanya, another symbol of the country’s increasing isolation over its war in Ukraine.

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The Chicago burger giant confirmed that it is selling its 850 restaurants in Russia. McDonald's said it will seek a buyer who will employ its 62,000 workers in Russia, and will continue to pay those workers until the deal closes.

McDonald's said in early March that it was temporarily closing its stores in Russia but would continue to pay its employees. It was a costly decision. Late last month, the company said it was losing $55 million each month due to the restaurant closures. It also lost $100 million worth of inventory.

Western companies have wrestled with extricating themselves from Russia, enduring the hit to their bottom lines from pausing or closing operations in the face of sanctions.