The software giant joins the sanctions bandwagon

Mar 6, 2022 10:55 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has recently announced that it’s suspending the selling of new products and services in Russia following the war in Ukraine.

The company says it condemns what it describes as “unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia,” adding that it’s aligning its decisions with the ones of other governments across the world, including the one of the United States.

“We are announcing today that we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in 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,” Microsoft’s Brad Smith, President & Vice Chair, announced.

“We believe we are most effective in aiding Ukraine when we take concrete steps in coordination with the decisions being made by these governments and we will take additional steps as this situation continues to evolve.”

Microsoft working on protecting Ukraine from cyberattacks

Furthermore, Microsoft reiterated the company’s support for protecting Ukraine’s cybersecurity, as the local authorities have warned on multiple occasions they’ve been the targets of massive cyberattacks since the beginning of the war.

“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 that these attacks against civilians violate the Geneva Convention,” Smith explained.

Of course, Microsoft isn’t the first tech giant that suspends its sales of products in Russia, as the software company follows in the footsteps of the likes of Apple and Google who also pulled the plug on several products specifically aimed at the Russian market.