The cable television network CNN, the media company Bloomberg, the British public network BBC and CBS News announced this Friday that they will suspend their journalistic activities in Russia, amid criticism that Vladimir Putin's government has received for its way of treat the independent press in that country.
A CNN spokesman said the network would stop broadcasting its news in Russia, "while we continue to assess the situation and determine the next steps to take."
Bloomberg News explained that it was suspending the work of its journalists in Russia, after Putin signed a law that could impose prison sentences of up to 15 years on those who transmit "false information".
about
the invasion of Ukraine
, something the New York-based media conglomerate called "criminalizing independent journalism."
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The BBC said Russia's new media law apparently
"criminalizes the process of independent journalism"
, leaving it with "no other option" but to stop the work of its reporters and employees.
"CBS News is currently not broadcasting from Russia as we monitor the circumstances for our teams on the ground due to new media laws passed today," a spokesman for the US network said.
The withdrawal of these media not only comes at a time when the Kremlin has intensified the repression of internal dissent, ordering the arrest of hundreds of people who have demonstrated against the war, but also adds to the historic wave of sanctions imposed by Western governments and companies.
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Switzerland announced on Friday that it would impose sweeping financial and business sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
These are new punitive measures that are added to those that the Swiss country had already announced four days ago, breaking with its historic principle of neutrality.
The Swiss government said it would freeze the accounts and assets of individuals close to Putin who were also sanctioned by the European Union.
In addition, it banned transactions with the Russian central bank and instituted measures to remove Russian financial institutions from the SWIFT payment system.
Other consequences
French luxury goods companies LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Hermès also announced Friday that they would temporarily close their department stores in Russia.
LVMH, which has more than 120 stores across the country, said the closure will begin this Sunday, "given the current circumstances in the region."
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The company Cogent Communications announced that it would stop providing its services to Russian internet companies as of Friday night.
“We were concerned about our infrastructure being used for cyber warfare and the spread of false information,” said Dave Schaeffer, CEO of Cogent, in an interview with The New York Times.
"We didn't want our services to be used offensively."
Putin's government blocked access to the social network Facebook on Friday, in retaliation for blocking posts by pro-Kremlin media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik and as it moves to quell internal protests over the war.
[Russian troops take control of the city of Kherson in southeastern Ukraine: it is the largest city to fall]
Microsoft said on Friday that it would suspend the sale of new products and services in Russia and said that Ukraine's cybersecurity was one of its priority objectives.
"We continue to work proactively to help Ukrainian cybersecurity officials defend against Russian attacks," Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in a statement.
Other tech giants like Apple, Google and Oracle have also taken steps to distance their businesses from Russia, including suspending sales and blocking Russian media channels RT and Sputnik.
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Oil companies, a strategic area for the Kremlin, such as British Petroleum, Exxon, Mobil and Shell recently announced that they would pull out of projects they have with Moscow, further isolating Putin.
The decisions by Western companies to cut ties with Russia come as the governments of Europe and the United States have already imposed brutal sanctions against the Russian economy, which has been hit hard in recent days.
The ruble has already lost more than 30% of its value against the dollar
since the start of the year, prompting long lines to withdraw people's savings from ATMs in Moscow and other Russian cities.