Samsung Suspends Smartphone And Electronics Sales In Russia

Samsung has suspended sales of its products in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, the Korean behemoth said it’s “actively monitoring” the complex geopolitical situation and is halting all exports to Russia, including smartphones, semiconductor chips, and consumer electronics, effective immediately. Several other global companies have also recently made similar announcements.

“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted and our priority is to ensure the safety of all our employees and their families,” the statement from Samsung read. The company is donating $6 million to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. This includes $1 million worth of consumer electronics products.

Samsung also suspends product sales in Russia

The EU, US, and the UK have announced several sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine last month. These sanctions, which include a transaction ban with the country’s central bank, look to isolate it “financially, economically, and technologically” from the rest of the world. Soon after the sanctions were imposed, several sea and air cargo operators suspended their operations in the country, effectively choking supply chains. Russian currency Ruble has also seen a precipitous decline over the past couple of weeks.

All these developments have made it difficult for international businesses to continue their operations in Russia. Of course, there’s also a humanitarian reason to suspend business in Russia. The country’s unprovoked military aggression in Ukraine has taken several innocent lives. Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has been uring global companies to cease sales of their products and services in Russia as well.

Either way, several biggies have announced the suspension of their business operations in Russia in recent days. Apple has stopped selling iPhones in the country and has also limited or halted other services such as Apple Pay. HP, which is the largest PC supplier to Russia, has stopped exports to the country as well. Microsoft and Intel too.

While the said sanctions exempted South Korean smartphone exports to Russia, Samsung has now taken a similar position as well. This is a big business decision from the company since it accounts for more than 30 percent of the country’s smartphone market. That’s much higher than Apple’s 13 percent share. Russia contributed to four percent of the Korean behemoth’s global revenues from smartphones.

Samsung also has a TV manufacturing facility in the city of Kaluga in western Russia. It’s unclear whether it has stopped production at this facility.