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Putin Says Microsoft and Zoom Should Be “Choked” for Leaving Russian Market

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
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Putin Says Microsoft and Zoom Should Be “Choked” for Leaving Russian Market
Russian leader Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on March 14, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has called on the Kremlin to retaliate against foreign tech giants such as Zoom and Microsoft, saying they should be “choked” for exiting the Russian market. He made the remarks during a meeting with Russian business leaders, according to the Russian outlet Agenstvo on May 27.

The suggestion to tighten restrictions on the operations of Western tech services still functioning in Russia—despite officially exiting—was raised by Stanislav Iodkovsky, CEO of Russian IT firm Iva Technologies.

“I’ll give an example,” said Iodkovsky. “According to several analysts, the industry is losing billions due to the continued operation of these services in Russia.”

Putin interrupted, saying bluntly: “They need to be choked.”

“I say this without any hesitation, because they’re trying to suffocate us—we must respond in kind. We didn’t kick anyone out, we didn’t interfere, we provided the most comfortable working conditions on our market. And they’re trying to suffocate us. We must respond in kind—act in a mirror image,” he elaborated further.

Earlier, Russia fined Google with the total claims from Russian state-controlled television channels against Google surged to 2 undecillion rubles (approximately $22.1 trillion) due to the blocking of their YouTube accounts.

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