Tech Giants AWS, Microsoft, Google, IBM Step Up Efforts to Punish Kremlin

As the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has stretched into a third week, technology companies have stepped up to do what they can, taking business measures to punish Russia for the unprovoked attack.

It’s an approach recommended by former White House Russia Expert Fiona Hill in an interview with Politico when she said “Ordinary companies should make a decision. This is the epitome of ‘ESG’ that companies are saying is their priority right now — upholding standards of good Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance. Just like people didn’t want their money invested in South Africa during apartheid, do you really want to have your money invested in Russia during Russia’s brutal invasion and subjugation and carving up of Ukraine?”

Among the companies that are meeting this challenge are Apple, Google, SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, AWS, AMD, Intel, Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM, and Lenovo. The measures taken include cutting off sales to Russia, not taking on new business in Russia, providing additional resources to support Ukraine and its allies, and limiting the reach of Russian state-funded media.

For its part, Russia’s Kremlin has blocked social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, not allowing citizens of the country to access them. Facebook, acknowledging the special circumstances of c