Top Tech Companies Halting Sales in Russia in Response to War in Ukraine

Technology companies are responding to the war in Ukraine. A growing number have said they will limit services and stop sales of products and services in Russia.

Most notably, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Dell and Meta have stated that they will halt or alter product sales in Russia. 

Farewell, Fake News

Tech companies have also responded in other ways, including cracking down on misinformation. For instance, they have gone as far as reducing the online presence of Russian state-owned media outlets like RT News and Sputnik News. 

Both Twitter and Google blocked ad revenue to Russian-backed state media outlets. Additionally, Google has increased security measures for Ukrainian users and websites through the build-out of its Project Shield campaign. Additionally, Apple and Microsoft both pressed pause on new product sales in Russia, and Oracle and SAP have suspended operations. 

Microsoft’s Brad Smith

“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,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft president and vice chair, in a recent statement.

Sanctions, Sales and Social Media

Economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Russia are also causing companies like VMware to pause some of their services to the country. This includes terminating new sales transactions with sanctioned Russian customers.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, has also issued a plea to tech companies. He has urged them to turn up the heat on Russia, even whipping up a social media campaign to that effect. 

The US, the EU and the U.K. have all imposed economic sanctions on Russia. Here’s a look at some companies that have stopped/paused sales or other services in the country.

The List

• Adobe: The maker of Photoshop and other software stopped all new sales and services in Russia, including its software for creative pros and it’s website analytics tools. The company also cut off access to its cloud services for Russia’s government-controlled media outlets.
• ADP: The company has stopped serving clients headquartered in Russia.
• AMD: Sanctions have been put in place to prevent chip sales.
• Apple: The tech giant has gone big. It has stopped selling its products in Russia and is halting online transactions (including limiting Apple Pay). Additionally, it has disabled some Apple Maps features in Ukraine to protect civilians. 
• Aruba: The company has suspended shipments.
• Cisco: The company has suspended business operations in Russia and Belarus.
• Dell: The company has suspended product sales.
• Epicor: The company has suspended product sales and operations.
• Google: Users in Russia can still use Google’s search engine, but the company has completely put a lid on its advertising business in the country. This includes ad revenue from YouTube, search and all other forms of Google-sponsored marketing. 
• HP: The company has suspended shipments and halted advertising.
• Intel: The tech company has suspended all shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus, including chips.
• Meta: The company has restricted access to Russian-backed state media.
• Micron: The company has halted all shipments to Russia and Ukraine.
• Microsoft: The maker of Windows has suspended sales of its products and services in Russia. They have also pledged to up the cybersecurity game in Ukraine. 
• Oracle: The company has suspended all sales and operations.
• Pure Storage: The company has suspended shipments in support services.
• Samsung: Samsung is now suspending shipments to Russia.
• SAP: The company has suspended sales.
• SAS: The company has suspended all business operations in Russia.
• Supermicro: The company has pressed pause on all its sales and shipments to Russia.
• Veeam: The company has suspended sales in the country.
• VMware: The company has suspended sales/support to sanctioned customers, and blocked license delivery to partners.