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Amid major firms including Apple are cutting ties with the Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Samsung Electronics has announced it is suspending all shipments to Russia "due to current geopolitical developments." The South Korean tech giant further announced that it is donating $6 million, including $1 million in consumer electronics, to actively support humanitarian efforts around the Ukraine region, as per news agency ANI report. The South Korean tech giant is the world's biggest memory chip maker and the leading smartphone seller in Russia.
Samsung Electronics has suspended shipments to Russia "due to current geopolitical developments, shipments to Russia have been suspended," Samsung said in a statement. “We continue to actively monitor this complex situation to determine our next steps," it further said.
The decision comes as Western governments, sporting organizations and big companies cut Russia off and deal it punishing sanctions over the internationally condemned attack on its neighbor.
Samsung controls just above 30 percent of the smartphone market share in Russia, according to Bloomberg News -- four percent of the tech giant's total global smartphone revenues.
Sales of semiconductors in Russia, in turn, accounted for less than 0.1 percent of Samsung Electronics' profits, according to a report by Hana Financial Investment.
South Korea, a key US security ally, also this week announced it would block financial transactions with major Russian banks and their subsidiaries subject to US sanctions.
Samsung is also donating $6 million, including $1 million in consumer electronics as well as voluntary donations from employees, to "actively support humanitarian efforts" and refugees in the region, the firm said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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