Earlier this week Microsoft shared more about how it is responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was a four-part response, but the company has now come out provided another update on what it is calling the “unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion,” saying that it has suspended all new sales of Microsoft products in Russia.
The move should not come as much of a surprise, as Microsoft’s rival Apple made a similar decision to suspend sales in Russia back on March 1. Yet Microsoft also added that it is working closely and in “lockstep” with the government of the United States, the European Union, and the UK to stop many other aspects of their business in compliance with governmental sanctions. According to Microsoft President & Vice Chair, Brad Smith:
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.
The situation in Russia is largely a political and humanitarian issue, but many big tech companies and even the video gaming industry have gotten involved to line up with decisions from United States officials. Intel and AMD stopped chip sales in Russia and Belarus, and Google is blocking many Russian outlets on its services. Microsoft also blocked state-sponsored content from RT and Sputnik on MSN.com and Microsoft Start, and re-ranked those search results on Bing, along with removing the Windows Store RT news app.
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