10 Tech Giants That Have Cut Ties With Russia After Ukraine Invasion

As the world braces for economic impact from the conflict and historic sanctions against Russia, a number of technology firms show solidarity with Ukraine globally

Many major tech companies—including Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Intel, AMD, HP Inc., HPE, Dell and more—are complying with strict and historic sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine this week.

The Biden administration ordered U.S. companies not to do business with Russia. And multinational corporations are joining in the boycott effort as well. The list of companies suspending operations in Russia seems to be growing by the hour, including the world’s most valuable company: Apple.

There wasn’t much of a question of whether the major U.S. tech firms would comply with the sanctions, but the announcements did provide companies a chance to formally rebuke Russia’s actions on record.

Here’s a roundup of 10 tech companies and what they’ve said they’ve done regarding business in Russia. Click through the slideshow to see more.

Joseph Kovar and David Harris contributed to this report.

Apple

“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” read Apple’s statement to media. “We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.”

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also suspended Russian state news service RT News and Sputnik News from its App Store. Both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine were disabled as a safety precaution.

For Michael Oh, president and founder of Cambridge, Mass.-based Apple partner TSP IT Services, the move was not a surprise. “It’s hard to imagine a U.S. company would continue to do business with Russia at this point, given the reaction worldwide.”

Oh said he expects further supply chain disruptions because of the conflict, but the pandemic has been a valuable training ground on that front. “There are tons of things that are going to happen; transportation costs are going to go up and it’s just going to be a ripple effect. We’re kind of getting used to supply chain issues. We just have to see what happens and roll with the punches.” Oh said.

HP Inc.

HP Inc. has suspended product shipments to Russia as part of U.S. sanctions in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

During a Q1 2022 earnings conference call with investors, HP CEO Enrique Lores said the company was preparing for “a range of scenarios” prompted by the conflict. “The well-being of our people, their families and our customers and partners is our top concern,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to keep them safe.”

Microsoft

Software giant Microsoft also admonished Russia’s attack on Ukraine, calling it “tragic, unlawful and unjustified.” The company vowed to protect Ukraine from cyberattacks and state-sponsored disinformation campaigns.

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and vice chair, wrote in a Monday blog post, “One of our principal and global responsibilities as a company is to help defend governments and countries from cyberattacks. “Seldom has this role been more important than during the past week in Ukraine, where the Ukraininan government and many other organizations and individuals are our customers.

HPE

HPE CEO Antonio Neri told CRN that his company had also ceased shipments to Russia this week.

“It is very heartbreaking,” he said. “We are doing what we need to do. I was reflecting in the last four years how many crises we have had to manage. Of course you think about cybersecurity, supply chain disruption and all the regions impacted. You need to think about Russia employees. We cannot pay them now because the whole banking system has been halted.”

Intel And AMD

While many in semiconductor industry also joined the Russia boycott—Including chip giants Intel and AMD —analysts doubted the move would have much impact on overall business in the short term. Russia accounts for a small percentage of chip sales globally.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said in a statement that Russia’s global chip sales add up to less than 0.1 percent. Global chip sales hit a record $555.9 billion in 2021, and Russia accounted for less than $560 million. SIA noted that Russia made up 50.3 billion in a $4.47 trillion worldwide IT market.

“The U.S. semiconductor industry is fully committed to complying with the new export control rules announced today in response to the deeply disturbing events unfolding in Ukraine. We are still reviewing the new rules to determine their impact on our industry. While the impact of the new rules to Russia could be significant, Russia is not a significant direct consumer of semiconductors…” the group’s statement read.

Oracle

Before noon on Wednesday, Austin, Texas-based Oracle announced support for Ukraine and its suspension of all operations in Russia.

The Twitter announcement came a few hours after Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Federov, sent a tweet at the company asking for support.

“We hope that you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe, and finally, the whole world from bloody Russian aggression,” he wrote.

Dell Technologies

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Technologies suspended all product sales in Russia earlier this week, saying it was monitoring the situation to determine its next steps and working to assist employees affected by the conflict.

The company told The Information that its top priority was to find safe locations for Ukraine-based employees to relocate.

SAP

In a March 2 blog post entitled “Standing in Solidarity,” SAP CEO Christian Klein said the German multinational software company is stopping business in Russia aligned with sanctions and, in addition, “pausing all sales of SAP services and products in Russia.” He wrote that “economic sanctions against Russia are an important mechanism in the efforts to restore peace. We are in constant exchange with governments around the world, have every confidence in their guidance, and fully support the actions taken so far.”

Klein also said the tech giant was allocating an “initial 1 million [euros] in humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine and are working with national Red Cross organizations, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and other organizations to offer our technology to support their efforts.”

According to SAP’s website, the company has four offices in Russia.

Accenture

Global solution provider Accenture Thursday said it is discontinuing its business in Russia in response to that country’s attack on neighboring country Ukraine. The company has about 2,300 employees in Russa in three offices.

Accenture, in a statement posted online, addressed the Russian attack in strong terms, and said its move will impact 2,300 employees in the country. “Accenture stands with the people of Ukraine and the governments, companies and individuals around the world calling for the immediate end to the unlawful and horrific attack on the people of Ukraine and their freedom. Therefore, Accenture is discontinuing our business in Russia,” the company said.

Accenture also said it will provide support to its Russian employees, and will also be supporting its Ukraine employees as well as providing aid to the people of Ukraine.