What you need to know
- Amazon has paused shipments to Russia and Belarus, and it will no longer accept new merchants in the country.
- The company has also halted access to Prime Video in Russia.
- The sale of New World, the company’s only title sold directly in the country, has also been suspended.
As many other tech giants, including Google and Meta, halted major operations in Russia, Amazon announced new sanctions against the country in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.
The online retail giant has suspended shipments to customers based in Russia and Belarus, and it won’t be accepting new merchants who want to sell on the platform. Amazon has also blocked access to Prime Video in Russia.
“As a reminder, unlike some other U.S. technology providers, Amazon and AWS have no data centers, infrastructure, or offices in Russia, and we have a long-standing policy of not doing business with the Russian government,” Amazon said in a blog post.
However, it does not appear that the company is kicking out existing third-party merchants and AWS customers in the country.
Shortly before the latest stoppage, the company ceased accepting new AWS subscribers in Russia and Belarus.
“Our biggest customers using AWS in Russia are companies who are headquartered outside of the country and have some development teams there,” Amazon previously said. “AWS has clear terms of service where if a customer is using AWS services to threaten, incite, promote, or actively encourage violence, terrorism, or other serious harm, they will not be permitted to use our services.”
The company has also stopped selling New World in Russia. The MMO title is the only game that it sells directly in the country.
Amazon is the latest tech giant to take a stance against Russia after it invaded Ukraine. Alongside it, Google paused its Play Store’s billing system for users in Russia, which means they can no longer purchase apps and games or pay for subscriptions.
Sony also suspended PlayStation sales in Russia, joining Microsoft, CD Projekt RED, and other gaming companies in their collective effort to condemn the Ukraine war.
Russia’s military operations in Ukraine don’t bode well for the future of mobile devices, including the best Android phones sold in the country. Counterpoint Research recently predicted that the country’s smartphone market could take a further hit in 2022 after declining 7% year-over-year in 2021.
