Samsung suspends all shipment of goods to Russia “due to the present geopolitical situations,” it announced on Saturday. “We continue to actively monitor this complex situation to determine our next steps,” the company said. Previously, when asked if Samsung would stop providing services in Russia, the company declined to respond.
Samsung suspends shipments of phones and chips
Global shipping firms such as MSC and Maersk, which joined in sanctions, decided to cease all operations at Russian ports, import supply chains and flights into Russia have been halted. Hyundai Merchant Marine, South Korea’s shipping firm, also discontinued its cargo service to St. Petersburg last week, shutting out Korean firms such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai from delivering products to Russia.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, sent a letter to Samsung’s vice chairman Han Jong-hee on Friday demanding that Samsung suspends services and products in Russia.
Fedorov stated in a letter which he tweeted that:
“We believe that such actions will motivate the youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression. We need your support – in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and missiles targeting residential neighborhoods, kindergartens, and hospitals. Stay with Ukraine and save millions of innocent lives!”
@Samsung, I urge you to take a step towards world peace! As long as Russian tanks and missiles bomb kindergartens and hospitals in Ukraine, your cool equipment cannot be used by Russians! pic.twitter.com/xjOInduclD
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 4, 2022
Samsung said in a statement:
“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted and our priority is to ensure the safety of all our employees and their families. We plan to actively support humanitarian efforts around the region, including aid for refugees.”
The company is donating $6 million, including a $1 million gift of consumer electronics items, as well as voluntary contributions from its staff.
Samsung leads the smartphone market in Russia, with a market share of 26.6 percent in 2021. Apple (23%) and Xiaomi (19.9%) are second and third, respectively. This comes just days after a slew of tech firms’ decisions to cease providing services in Russia as a result of the Ukraine crisis. Apple last week announced that it had halted sales of its products and services in Russia. Microsoft also said it has stopped selling all new items and services in Russia indefinitely.
