Microsoft announced Friday that it was suspending all sales to Russia, joining dozens of other international companies in pulling business out of the country over its incursion of Ukraine.
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In a statement posted on the company's blog, Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith wrote, "Like the rest of the world, we are 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.
"We are announcing today [Friday] 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."
Together 🇪🇺🇺🇸 have deployed sanctions in record time.
The rouble is tumbling. Inflation has risen in Russia. Banks are cut-off from global markets.
Now, one after another, Western companies are stopping production, investment and sales. https://t.co/6yMdJU48Vr
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 4, 2022
"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," Smith continued.
"Our single most impactful area of work almost certainly is the protection of Ukraine's cybersecurity. We continue to work proactively to help cybersecurity officials in Ukraine defend against Russian attacks, including most recently a cyberattack against a major Ukrainian broadcaster.
"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.
"We are also continuing to mobilize our resources to help the people in Ukraine. Our Microsoft Philanthropies and UN Affairs teams are working closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and multiple UN agencies to help refugees by providing technology and financial support for key NGOs and, where needed, we are defending these groups from ongoing cyberattacks.
"As a company, we are committed to the safety of our employees in Ukraine and we are in constant contact with them to offer support in many forms, including those who have needed to flee for their lives or safety. Like so many others, we stand with Ukraine in calling for the restoration of peace, respect for Ukraine's sovereignty, and the protection of its people," he concluded.
We are taking several new steps in response to the war in Ukraine, including suspending new sales in Russia. https://t.co/BCHZ57TryO
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) March 4, 2022
Earlier this week, audio streaming service giant Spotify announced it was shuttering its office in Russia "indefinitely" in response to Moscow's "unprovoked attack on Ukraine."
Spotify opened its office in Moscow only last month following the July 2021 enactment of a Russian law requiring foreign tech companies with an audience of over 500,000 daily users to establish a physical presence in Russia by March 2022. The law stipulates that not doing so subjects companies to restrictions and even an outright ban.
Ahead of the deadline, only a few companies, including Spotify, had complied.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week prompted Western governments to urge companies to push back on Putin in any way possible.
"Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever," Spotify said in a statement.
The streaming service also pulled all content from Kremlin-funded news outlets RT and Sputnik from Spotify across the European Union, the United States and other markets around the world, except for Russia, following similar steps by Facebook and Twitter.
The move followed a review of thousands of pieces of content since the Feb. 24 conflict erupted Spotify said, adding it restricted the discoverability of shows owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media.
"We think it's critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information," a Spotify spokesperson told Variety.
Sputnik said that "any restrictions on members of the press are blatant censorship and the dirtiest example of freedom of speech violations." RT said that tech companies removing it had failed to cite any issues with its coverage.
Spotify also said it would match employee donations, two-to-one, to support local humanitarian efforts.
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