Intel Suspends Operation in Russia as Military Invasion Continues

With many other companies pulling out from the Russian market, US chipmaker Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) has also announced its decision to suspend operations in the country.

Last month, Intel announced that it had suspended shipment to customers in Russia and Belarus. To minimize disruption to its global operation, the company stated that it had put in place business continuity measures. Also, it assured that it will continue to support its 1,200 workers in Russia.

“Intel continues to join the global community in condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine and calling for a swift return to peace,” said Intel.

Russia recently embarked on a military operation in Ukraine despite the numerous warnings issued by world leaders. In response, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries have imposed the most serious sanctions on the country focusing on military goods, oil, and gas, Banks, etc. Many reports disclosed that some crypto exchanges have suspended the registration and trading activities of Russians on their platform in protest of the military operation.

Co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin was also reported to have publicly criticized the Russian president Vladimir Putin in this regard.

Recently, Ukraine petitioned US cloud-computing and software companies to suspend or break business ties with Russia. In response, International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) suspended shipments to its customers located in the country. This comes as a huge blow as Russia has heavily relied on technologies created by the west with servers from IBM, Dell Technologies Inc (DELL.N), and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE.N) dominating the market. Beside Intel, other tech companies including Apple, AMD, Adobe, and General Electric have also suspended their product sales in Russia. Interestingly, Russia has introduced a new law that limits free speech forcing the likes of BBC, ABC, and CNN to suspend their services in the country.

Several news reports have confirmed that many people have decided to flee the country as they begin to feel the full impact of the sanctions.  The Russian Association for Electronic Communications recently reported that about 70,000 IT specialists fled the country in February and March. Also, it was predicted that about 100,000 specialists may flee the country in April. The only hindrances are high ticket prices and other related factors.

The start of the invasion forced Boeing and Airbus to stop servicing Russian fleets, as over 30 countries closed their airspace for Russian aircraft. It is worth noting that many other countries are still exploring the possibilities of imposing even stricter sanctions on Russia.