Microsoft blocks Russian firms from Office and Onedrive

Microsoft has stopped Russian companies and organisations from using Onedrive, Office and other online services in order to comply with EU sanctions.

In total, Microsoft has blocked access to more than 50 of its tools. It means the affected firms won’t be able to access any of the data stored on them.

Other tools no longer available include messaging app Teams, used by employees to stay in touch and collaborate on projects, and Visual Studio, which is a programming environment for building software and websites.

The sanctions, agreed in December, prohibit companies from providing “certain management or design software (including cloud-based solutions) to entities incorporated in Russia”.

Russian companies had previously bypassed sanctions by subscribing to online services using foreign accounts.

The deadline for removing access was originally 20 March, but this was moved to the end of the month to give affected companies more time to adapt.

The sanctions affect companies across the whole of the Russian economy, including architecture, design, construction, manufacturing, media, education and entertainment. There are no plans to restrict access to Russian citizens however.

It’s expected that Amazon and Google will also soon block access to comply with the sanctions.