Dell Technologies Inc announced on Saturday that it has suspended all of its Russian operations after closing its offices in mid-August, the latest in a growing list of Western companies pulling out of Russia. The US computer company, a vital supplier of servers to Russia, has joined others in curtailing operations since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24. Dell suspended sales to Ukraine and Russia in February, saying it would monitor the situation to determine its next steps. “In mid-August, we closed our offices and stopped all Russian operations,” Dell spokesman Mike Sieminas told Reuters. “Back in February, we made the decision not to sell, service or support products in Russia, Belarus and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, in addition to the already embargoed Crimea.” Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and recognized self-proclaimed breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions in February, moves condemned by Ukraine and Western nations, which have imposed sanctions on Russia . Russia’s industry ministry said on Friday that many of the researchers and engineers working for Dell in Russia have already been offered new jobs, following media reports that the company was pulling out entirely. Tech publication CNews this week reported that Dell would pull out of Russia entirely and lay off all of its local staff. A similar report was published by IT-focused news portal TAdviser. “We are monitoring the development of the situation,” TASS news agency quoted Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Vasily Shpak as saying on Friday. “According to our data, the vast majority of specialists and support engineers of Dell’s R&D centers in St. Petersburg and Moscow have already received job offers with competitive salaries from Russian producers.”
