Microsoft cutting back on business in Russia

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it would scale back on its business operations in Russia amid Moscow’s continued invasion of Ukraine. 

“As a result of the changes to the economic outlook and the impact on our business in Russia, we have made the decision to significantly scale down our operations in Russia,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

“We will continue to fulfill our existing contractual obligations with Russian customers while the suspension of new sales remains in effect,” the company added.  

Bloomberg first reported the news.

More than 400 employees will be affected by the change, according to Reuters.

The company had already suspended new sales in Russia in March at the start of the invasion, joining a number of other tech companies in cutting off the country from technologies.

In April, Microsoft released a report detailing Russian-backed hackers who launched more than 200 cyber operations against Ukraine as early as March 2021, well before Moscow’s invasion of the country.

“The attacks have not only degraded the systems of institutions in Ukraine but have also sought to disrupt people’s access to reliable information and critical life services on which civilians depend, and have attempted to shake confidence in the country’s leadership,” Tom Burt, a Microsoft vice president, said at the time.

Microsoft also noted that “it’s likely the attacks we’ve observed are only a fraction of activity targeting Ukraine.”

—Updated at 12:46 p.m.