Ukraine brings a tough “digital blockade” message to the World Economic Forum

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, has not left the country since the Russian invasion three months ago. But he recently traveled hundreds of miles from Kyiv to Davos, Switzerland, to send a message to some of the biggest tech companies in the world: “We need you to do more.”

Fedorov said in an interview with CNN Business that he met directly with Nick Clegg, head of global affairs for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, at the World Economic Forum. He has also had meetings with representatives from Microsoft and Google. “Each of us can do better,” said Mykhailo Fedorov.

According to Fedorov’s statistics, nearly 500 technology companies have left Russia since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. However, Mykhailo Fedorov has also called on technology companies Cloudflare and SAP to take action. quickly left the Russian operation, which he says hesitancy is undermining the effectiveness of the “digital blockade”. “When a company operates in the Russian market, they pump money into the Russian budget,” Fedorov said.

Now, Germany’s SAP, which makes business software, said in April it plans to leave Russia. But Fedorov said the company is slowing down with plans and needs to go faster.

“I believe they will eventually leave Russia, sooner or later – but sooner rather than later, because many people are being killed in Ukraine,” he said.

SAP said in a statement to CNN Business that it is having “an ongoing dialogue with the Ukrainian government, including conversations in Davos”.

“SAP has stood in solidarity with the Ukrainian people since the beginning of Russia’s senseless war, including the beginning of shutting down our direct business in Russia and providing technology aid. and significant humanitarianism for Ukraine,” the company said in a statement. “Our guiding principles and decisions include the full implementation of sanctions as a responsible member of the global community.” And Cloudflare meanwhile said it is still operating in Russia to protect the flow of uncensored information to Russians.

“They say they are there to defend a certain democracy,” Fedorov said.

In a statement, the cloud service operator said it “has minimal sales and commercial activity in Russia” and has “terminated any customers we identified as binding.” with sanctioned entities”. Cloudflare said it “also worked hard and donated free services to Ukraine’s critical websites, networks and infrastructure to help them stay online and safe”.

Fedorov emphasized that the “digital blockade” is an important tool to combat Russia, as it could set the country back “two or three decades”, encouraging engineers and technology professionals to other leave.

“We also want people in Russia to understand: ‘Guys, something is wrong. And they have to stand up against the war,'” Fedorov added.

Reportedly, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov was at the forefront of Kyiv’s overt diplomatic campaign to isolate Russia on the international stage. He called on tech giants like Apple, Google and Netflix to limit their products in Russia, called on tech giants like Elon Musk to support, and boosted Ukraine’s “IT Army” consisting of Volunteer attackers conduct cyberattacks on Russian infrastructure.

“When the war started, we turned to wartime priorities like the digital blockade and the need to divest from Russia,” Fedorov said in an interview.

Fedorov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s right-hand man in the digital sphere, has in recent weeks named and shamed companies around the world – from Silicon Valley giants to suppliers Europe’s leading IT service- for non-stop providing services entirely in Russia.

During meetings with Meta and Google at the forum, Fedorov said he discussed fighting misinformation, blocking propaganda channels, and creating “green corridors” for information from the media. Ukraine and bloggers so that information is not blocked.

At the Forum, the delegates were interested in Ukraine’s experience and asked a number of questions about Diia and Diia.City, digital services, Starlink’s operations, the fight against misinformation, the war the world’s first network and the development of Ukraine in the field of IT.

“We have shown the world that the Russian military in cyberspace is not the first or the second, not even in the top 10. While our IT army continues to hold the front. cyber battles, attacking enemies and finding new cyber solutions”. Mykhailo Fedorov also stressed the importance of supporting a democratic world – specifically the importance of Russia’s digital blockade and sanctions. International companies must leave the Russian market if they do not want to finance the killings of civilians in Ukraine.

Currently, the Digital Ministry of Ukraine also continues to promote direct donations to support the defense and reconstruction of the country. At Ukraine House, the delegation’s hub in Davos, guests can contribute via credit card, bank transfer or PayPal, or in cryptocurrency.

Recently, Kalush Orchestra, the winner of Ukraine in this year’s Eurovision song contest, announced that it will award the trophy to the highest bidder, with the proceeds going to donate to the Ukrainian army. Bidding can be done in cryptocurrency.