In a new blog from Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith it has been confirmed that all new sales of Microsoft software and hardware will be suspended in Russia following the invasion of and ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
In the blog, Brad Smith states the following: “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.”
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This follows other businesses that have also ceased sales of products in the region, including game distribution platform GOG, owned by CD Projekt RED, creators of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
The gaming industry has near-universally condemned Russia’s actions, with some creators going a step further to show support. One of the minds behind the original Doom and Wolfenstein games, John Romero, released a new Doom 2 level, with money made from purchases going towards Ukrainian humanitarian causes. Similarly, The Pokémon Company has donated $200,000 USD to GlobalGiving for humanitarian relief in the region. EA Sports has even removed Russian teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22.
All of this follows a plea from Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov earlier this week, which saw the politician appealing to Sony and Microsoft on Twitter to stop supporting the Russian and Belarusian markets until peace is restored.
In addition to halting sales in Russia, Microsoft’s blog states that a key area in which they are providing support is cybersecurity, stating: “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.”
As the war in Ukraine continues, so will pressure from companies and nations globally to stop the invasion.
Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.
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