Microsoft is joining major US tech companies in halting product sales in Russia over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
“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,” Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in Friday’s announcement.
In response, Smith said his company is suspending “all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.” This means the Windows OS, Microsoft’s enterprise software, and the company’s Xbox console will no longer be offered in the Russian market.
Smith didn't say how the sales stoppage might affect Windows PCs built by third-party vendors. He used the term “new sales” in his announcement, so existing customers of Microsoft’s cloud services and Xbox Live should still receive service. But whether Russian-based users can keep paying for those subscriptions over time was left unsaid. Microsoft told PCMag it had nothing to share beyond what Smith wrote in the blog post.
Smith added that his company is working to comply with the White House sanctions against Russia, which also ban US companies from selling technology to the country’s defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors.
"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,” he wrote.
According to Smith, Microsoft also plans to “take additional steps” as the war in Ukraine evolves. But he didn't elaborate. One option internet users have floated is Microsoft suspending all software updates to Windows systems in Russia, but doing so would also undermine the IT security of millions of Russian civilians.
In the meantime, it seems momentum is building for a complete US technology sales ban to Russia. On Thursday, both Intel and AMD decided to suspend chip sales to Russia and Belarus after Apple also halted product sales and exports to the country, citing the Ukraine conflict.