MOSCOW (Reuters) - The last orders bell tolled for Bud, Carlsberg and Heineken beers in Russia in early March, but shops across Moscow are still selling off stockpiles months after the brewers said they would halt production.

The continued availability of unsold stacks of Carlsberg, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken's flagship brands underlines the difficulty Western brands have faced in withdrawing products in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

Their cans and bottles were still on sale in supermarkets and stores in Russia's capital this week, a Reuters review found - an example of how long it can take consumer-focused sanctions or restrictions to have a significant impact.

It was not clear how much inventory Russian retailers have, but for now the supplies are helping to cushion the blow of the tough sanctions which prompted the world's top brewers to turn off the taps to Russia's most popular Western beers.

Carlsberg and Heineken said on March 9 they would stop production and sales of their flagship brands in Russia, joining an exodus of foreign companies after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, in what it calls its "special military operation".

Two days later, AB InBev, which runs its Russia operations in a joint venture with Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes, said it had requested that the licence for production and sale of Bud in Russia be suspended.

Dates printed on the bottom of cans and bottles on sale in about half a dozen supermarkets in Moscow, including ones owned by the country's biggest food retailer X5 and convenience chain Krasnoe & beloe (K&B), show that some production of all three beers continued in Russia after the brewers' public announcements, in Carlsberg's case for several weeks.

X5 did not comment and K&B did not respond.

Reuters identified Heineken cans with markings saying they were produced at a factory in St Petersburg on March 23 and Carlsberg cans on April 29 in Tula, a city south of Moscow.

Heineken said it sold out its own stock entirely soon after announcing that it would stop brewing Heineken in Russia.

"Our last brew of Heineken in Russia was in March, last packaging beginning of April and last sale second week of April," the company said in emailed comments. "After that there was no Heineken being brewed or sold by Heineken in Russia."

On March 28, Heineken announced its decision to leave Russia, seeking an orderly transfer of its business to a new owner and expecting to book related charges of around 400 million euros ($405.8 million), while guaranteeing the salaries of its 1,800 employees in Russia until the end of the year.