The tech company said there would be no new Microsoft products and services sales in Russia on Friday. This is the latest fallout from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Western governments, sports groups, and big businesses have cut off or punished Russia because of the attack on its neighbour.
“All new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia will be halted,” the company, based in the US, said in a statement. It didn’t say how the policy would be implemented.
When people see images and hear news about the war in Ukraine, “we are shocked, angry, and saddened.” In a blog post, Microsoft president Brad Smith said that the company “condemns this unjustifiable invasion by Russia.”
When Russia invaded, Apple moved to stop sales of its products. Facebook and Twitter, both based in the United States, have taken steps to prevent the spread of Russian state-linked media.
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Microsoft said it has also taken action against cyberattacks that were bad for the Ukraine government.
As long as the war has been going on, “We have taken action against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive actions against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT, and financial sector organisations,” Smith’s blog says.
Condemnation of the invasion
“We have also taken action against cyberattacks on several more civilian sites,” he said.
Ukraine’s government has been asking for help from all sides in the last few days and has been tweeting names of companies that it wants to stop doing business with Russia one by one.
“You must know what is going on in Ukraine right now. If you believe in human rights, you should leave the Russian market!” Ukraine’s vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted to Xbox and PlayStation.
The news comes after Intel and Airbnb said they were stopping business in Russia and Belarus, joining Moscow’s tech freeze-out.
“Airbnb is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus,” co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky wrote on Twitter. He didn’t give any more information about what that meant.
Also, on Monday, Airbnb said that it would give up to 100,000 people fleeing Ukraine’s war a free short-term stay.
There was an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and chipmaker Intel said it “condemned the invasion, and we have stopped all shipments to customers in both Russia and Belarus.”
Companies have also taken action to make money from ads and make money. On Thursday, Google said it had stopped advertising in Russia.
“For now, we’re stopping Google ads in Russia because of the unusual situation. As the situation changes, we will keep you updated on what’s going on. “This is what the company said in a statement.
RT and Sputnik were already banned from YouTube in Europe by the Silicon Valley company and their content on Google News.
