Ukraine Crisis: Amazon Turns Off Prime Video in Russia, Halts Product Shipments

The company will no longer be accepting new Russia or Belarus-based customers for its cloud computing services.

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(Photo: Wires)

Amazon has joined the growing number of businesses suspending commercial activities in Russia in the wake of the country's unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

The e-commerce giant said in a statement that it was cutting off access to Prime Video for customers based in Russia, given "the ongoing situation in Russia and Ukraine."

Amazon said it had also ceased shipment of retail products to customers in Russia and Belarus and said it would no longer be taking orders from Russian customers for its video game "New World," the only game the company sells directly in the country, reports Variety.com.

Additionally, the company will no longer be accepting new Russia- or Belarus-based customers for its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing services, nor will merchants in those countries be accepted as Amazon third-party sellers.

"As a reminder, unlike some other US 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 statement

According to Amazon, it has continued to partner with several non-governmental organisations to support "the immense humanitarian needs in the region."

The company said it donated $5 million to support people affected by the war and it had continued to match employees' donations; to date, more than 10,000 Amazon employees have donated to the effort.

According to Amazon's website, "tens of thousands of customers around the world" have also made donations to benefit Save the Children and the Red Cross on the ground in Ukraine.

(Published in an arrangement with IANS.)