In a blog post Friday morning, Microsoft President Brad Smith confirmed that the company “will stop all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.”
He did not go into more detail about what this looks like, nor did he specify the significant financial impact this move will have on his business, as CD Projekt Red did yesterday while announcing a ban on services for Russia and Belarus. In response to a request for more information from The Verge, a spokesman said the company had nothing more to share at the moment.
“We coordinate closely and work with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.”
Microsoft is just the latest technology company to announce the suspension of some of its services to Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the fighting, many politicians around the world have called for bans aimed at Russia’s economy and ability to connect with the world, in addition to sanctions against Russian banks and state media.
Microsoft’s announcement is specifically aimed at new sales, leaving existing service contracts unmentioned. The company does not go into the reasons for its decision, but Microsoft’s recent focus on cloud services and support services means that terminating existing contracts would be particularly devastating for both organizations and individuals using Windows, Office, Microsoft 365, Azure and even Xbox products in Russia.
According to Smith, “we coordinate closely and work closely with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and stop many aspects of our business in Russia in line with government sanctions decisions.”
This is in addition to his cybersecurity efforts, where Smith says: “Since the war began, we have acted against Russian positioning, destructive or destructive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations. We also acted against cyberattacks targeting several additional civilian targets. We have publicly expressed our concerns that these attacks on civilians violate the Geneva Convention.
Apple stopped selling its products in Russia on March 1, and Google paused sales of ads there this morning. The growing list of blockades and bans began small, but is slowly putting a digital wall between Russia and companies based in the United States and Europe.