Intel, a US chipmaker, stated Tuesday night that it has halted all business operations in Russia, joining a slew of other tech businesses that had left the nation in the wake of Ukraine’s invasion.
Last month, Intel halted all shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus after the US government imposed broad sanctions prohibiting the transfer of technology to the two countries.
Intel is closing down all business operations in the country, including 1,200 employees in Russia, as per today’s announcement.
“Intel continues to join the international community in denouncing Russia’s war on Ukraine and asking for a speedy return to peace,” said a statement from Intel “Intel announced the news in a press release on Tuesday night.
“We have halted all business activity in Russia, effective immediately. This follows our prior decision to halt all shipments to Russian and Belarussian customers.
Intel said it is trying to help all of its Russian employees throughout the closure and has put in place business continuity strategies to keep things running smoothly.
With AMD, Intel, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) suspending all sales and shipments to Russia, the country is in the midst of an IT crisis that might result in telecommunication failures and commercial disruption.
Due to a shortage of telecom equipment and replacement parts, Russia’s RSPP Commission for Communications and IT warned last month that Internet access could be disrupted.
The Russian government is also said to be looking for solutions to address a data storage shortage in the public sector, since data storage providers, particularly cloud services, are no longer willing to sell to Russia.
