Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv urges Microsoft to block Russia's access to its services

Russian forces continued to wreak havoc on Ukrainian cities as the Russia-Ukraine war entered its eleventh day. Russia has reportedly taken control of several Ukrainian cities since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's 'special military operation' on February 24. Despite mass destruction and heavy loss of lives, Putin, on Sunday, March 6, asserted that the military operation in Ukraine will only be suspended if the Kremlin's demands are met. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Vice-Prime Minister Mykhailo Albertovych Fedorov has urged big tech companies to boycott Russia over its invasion. Taking to his Twitter handle, Mykhailo appreciated renowned tech company, Microsoft and its CEO Satya Nadela after it suspend the sale of all of its products and services in Russia. Urging Microsoft to stop supplying its products like Teams, Skype, Github, Microsoft 365, etc to the Russian Federation, Fedorov tweeted, "During 10 days of the war, RU fired more than 400 cruise missiles on UA – kindergartens, hospitals and residential buildings were destroyed. @Microsoft @BillGates @satyanadella, please help to stop this – block access to Azure, Skype, GitHub from Russia. (sic)"

Ukraine on the frontline to defend the principles of democracy: Mykhailo Fedorov

The Ukrainian leader also shared a letter via a tweet that he sent to Satya Nadella. The letter read, "Mr Nadella, as you know, Ukraine is now on the frontline of the defence of the principles of democracy and freedom in face of the war waged by the Russian Federation. We appreciate the help Microsoft provides to the people in Ukraine, and we are thankful for suspending all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia."

Fedorov asks Microsoft to break existing ties with Russia

Asking Microsoft to break all existing relationships with Russia, Fedorov continued, "Therefore, we call on your company to end any existing relationships and stop doing business in the Russian Federation until the Russian aggression in Ukraine is fully stopped and fair order is restored."

The Ukrainian Vice PM also appealed to Microsoft to stop relationships with all Russia-based clients and partners, including supplying Microsoft products like Teams, Skype, Github, Microsoft 365, and urged it to suspend providing technical support and maintenance services to the Russian Federation.

(Image: @FedorovMykhailo/Twitter/PTI/AP)