Microsoft suspends new sales in Russia: other firms join hands with Microsoft

• Microsoft informed it will suspend new sales in Russia after the country invades Ukraine
• Microsoft announced that it will join work with Ukrainian cybersecurity officials to protect and monitor the country against Russian cyberattacks
• Samsung, Apple, and other small firms also have ceased shipping their products to Russia

Last Friday Microsoft officially announced that they will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia after the country invades Ukraine. Microsoft also announced that they will join work together with Ukraine cybersecurity officials to protect and monitor the country’s websites from cyberattacks.

Russia’s invasion against Ukraine began at end of February when Russia announced an unprovoked attack against the country, the entire world got attention and most of the countries and people started supporting and praying for Ukrainian citizens. Most of the country people’s started protesting against Russia’s invasion and their attacks. Since the war began, there have been thousands of casualties reported and nearly a million civilians have fled the country.

“we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia,” vice president of Microsoft Brad Smith officially announced in a blog post. In that post, he mentioned that they were horrified, angered, and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked, and unlawful invasion by Russia.

“In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions,” Brad Smith added. Brad Smith did not clarify how they stop and the ban on new sales would affect Microsoft.

Most of the Russian tech companies rely on Microsoft offices and their products. But there are no official announcements declared by Russia. Microsoft has said that it will ban and remove Russian state-owned media outlet RT’s mobile apps from the windows app store and cease Russian state-sponsored media advertisements It’s also not clarified online gamers who subscribed to Microsoft’s Xbox live service would be cut off.

Microsoft added ” Since the war began, we have acted against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT, and financial sector organizations. We have also acted against cyberattacks targeting several additional civilian sites. We have publicly raised our concerns against civilians to violate the geneva convention.”

In the endnote of Brad smith stated “Like so many others, we stand with Ukraine in calling for the restoration of the peace, respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and the protection of its people.”

Apple and other Tech companies join hands with Microsoft

With Microsoft, several other firms have joined hands to cease and ban new sales and services in Russia.

Tech companies include,

• Apple
• Samsung
• Snapchat
• Disney
• Sony
• Warner bros.
• Universal, and several other firms halt their services in Russia.

Apple has stopped selling its products and services in Russia and is halting online transactions, including limiting apple pay transactions. Apple banned Apple Maps features in Ukraine to protect Ukraine people.

And Google completely suspended its advertising business in Russia. It included ad revenue from YouTube.

Airbnb the room rental service has canceled all services in Russia and Belarus. And it offered free temporary housing to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Automakers companies like BMW, Ford, Honda also have stopped local protections and sales in Russia and it halted exports to Russia. Boeing has informed it will suspend parts, maintenance and service support to Russia. In the mean time some of the major companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi yet to stop doing business in Russia.