On Thursday, Microsoft Corp revealed that it would lend technological support to Ukraine free of cost through 2023, as the country’s invasion by Russia pulls on.
The company said that it would provide an extra technology aid of approximately $100 million, which will sum up its total support to more than $400 million for Ukraine, ever since the crisis developed in the beginning of this year.
Microsoft Corp’s President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post that this support will make sure that “government agencies, critical infrastructure and other sectors in Ukraine can continue to run their digital infrastructure and serve citizens through the Microsoft Cloud.”
According to the western security researchers and senior government officials, Ukraine has been the epicentre of targeted cyberattacks by Russia since the beginning of the conflict in late February this year. Microsoft mentioned that recently, transportation and logistics companies in Ukraine and Poland were attacked by a new ransomware by a group of hackers. A wide range of systems were targeted in the attack within an hour on Tuesday but the hackers remain unidentified yet. However, the researchers have linked their activities to the Russian government led cyber team that had previously disrupted government agencies in Ukraine.
Many companies in North America and Europe have come forward to offer support to the Ukrainian government and people.
In June this year, Microsoft mentioned that it was substantially cutting down its business operations in Russia, joining the string of companies that were following the policy of imposing sanctions against Russia for committing war crimes. However, Microsoft said that it would continue to fulfill the existing contractual obligations with its customers in Russia. But earlier in March, suspension of new sales was announced.
A Microsoft spokesperson said, “As a result of the changes to the economic outlook and the impact of our business in Russia, we have made the decision to significantly scale down our operations in Russia.”
As per a report issued by Bloomberg news, 400 employees in Russia will be affected due to this decision. Other major companies like Apple, Nike and Dell technologies have also reduced or shut down their operations in Russia.
In February 2022. Russian army barged into Ukraine in what they called a ‘special military operation’ to ensure the safety of Russian speakers and eliminate dangerous nationalists. However, Ukraine calls this attack an unprovoked and imperiaist invasion that has caused massive loss of life and property in Ukraine.