Moves by Nestlé and Renault to scale back their Russian businesses leave a dwindling handful of holdouts resisting the corporate exodus. Those companies, while decrying the invasion of Ukraine, insist staying put is the least bad option.

Nestlé deepened its pullback this week, suspending the majority of its sales and manufacturing in Russia, while French automaker Renault halted its operations and said it might quit a longstanding venture there...