Microsoft has taken a big step amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Microsoft has said that it is discontinuing the sale of its products and services in Russia. Microsoft has made this announcement in the midst of Russia’s attack on Moscow. Earlier, the governments of Western countries, sports organizations, and big companies have also condemned the Russian attack and imposed many types of sanctions.
Microsoft’s operating system is currently used by more than one billion users all over the world. Millions of users will be affected by the shutdown of sales and services in Russia. Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post, “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, outraged, and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine. We condemn this unfair, unprovoked, and illegal aggression by Russia.
Earlier last week Apple said that it has banned the sale of all its products in Russia. In addition to ceasing sales of its product in Russia, Apple has also removed Russian news apps RT and Sputnik’s app from its App Store. Apple’s Apple Pay service is also closed in Russia. Apple has taken this decision after a letter from Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, America has banned the export of its products to Russia. The US has also imposed this ban on those products whose brands are from Russia, but the production is done in America. This ban can cause huge losses to American companies.
The US has imposed these sanctions under US trade law. US companies now must obtain licenses to sell computers, sensors, lasers, navigation equipment, telecommunications, aerospace, and marine equipment to Russia. The US had imposed a similar ban on the Chinese company Huawei a few years ago, which caused a lot of damage to Huawei.
