Netflix Completes Withdrawal From Russia Amid Ukraine War

In the latest withdrawal of a Western firm over the war in Ukraine, Russian consumers have lost access to streaming behemoth Netflix.

From Friday, Netflix’s website and apps were unavailable, and a Netflix spokeswoman confirmed that members were no longer able to access the service.

On Monday, a Netflix spokeswoman told AFP that “this is the fulfilment of the departure from the Russian market” announced in March.

After Russia launched hundreds of soldiers into pro-Western Ukraine, the US-based platform announced its withdrawal from Russia in early March.

According to the spokeswoman, the corporation waited until the current billing cycle ended before disconnecting consumers.

Netflix is the most popular streaming service globally, with 221.8 million users as of the end of 2021, yet it was just a tiny participant in Russia.

In an April letter to shareholders, the business said that its exit from Russia had cost it 7,00,000 paying members, blaming the move for its first worldwide loss in subscribers in a decade.

Since Moscow’s assault in Ukraine on February 24, many global corporations have declared the suspension of operations or outright departure from Russia.

Netflix and TikTok halted most of their services in Russia in March as the Kremlin tightened restrictions on what citizens and media outlets may say about Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

After a growing number of multinational businesses cut off Russia from vital financial services, technology, and a variety of consumer products in response to Western economic sanctions and global outrage over the invasion of Ukraine, cutting off online entertainment — and information — is likely to isolate the country and its people further.

Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, all based in the United States, announced service cuts in Russia throughout the first weekend of March.

Samsung, a significant provider of both cellphones and computer processors, has said that it would cease product shipments to the nation, following Apple, Microsoft, Intel, and Dell.