
Samsung has stopped shipping its products to Russia after the country invaded Ukraine, the company told Bloomberg News. The tech giant said it was monitoring the “complex situation” and donating $6 million, including $1 million of consumer electronics, to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. According to the publication, the suspension of shipments affects all Samsung products, including its smartphones, chips and other consumer electronics.
By halting all exports of its products to Russia, Samsung has joined a growing list of companies that have suspended sales of products and services in the country. Apple halted all product sales in response to the invasion and after receiving a request from Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
The company also limited Apple Pay, removed apps from Russian state-supported media from its shop and disabled traffic data for Maps in Ukraine to avoid putting residents at risk. Microsoft has also suspended all new sales of products and services in Russia.
The Korean tech giant is the country’s leading smartphone brand and has a 30% market share, according to Counterpoint Research data. This is far more than Apple’s 13% market share in Q4 2021. In addition, Samsung has a TV factory in Russia, although it is not clear whether it has also stopped production at the factory.
Its decision to stop shipments to Russia comes after Fedorov sent Jong Hee Han, the CEO of Samsung’s SET division, a letter similar to the one he sent to Tim Cook. In it, he asked the Korean tech giant to stop supplying the country with products, as well as blocking Samsung Pay, Samsung Galaxy Store and Samsung Shop.
As Bloomberg notes, the South Korean smartphones were an exemption to the US government’s recently imposed export bans. But even if Samsung wanted to continue shipping products to Russia, it would have a hard time sending products to the country anyway because of the shutdown of airlines and shipping services in the region.
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