Tech walls off Russia like never before, posing new risks for US

Cutting Russians adrift from online services may undermine pro-democracy activists seeking to organise antiwar protests. And, perhaps most crucially, it threatens to drive Russia closer to America’s rivals, most notably China. — Reuters

The campaign to starve Russia of technology – stripping the nation of everything from iPhones and Airbnb listings to defence electronics – is an unprecedented experiment that risks pushing Vladimir Putin further into China’s orbit.

Using export controls as a tool, the US is leading an effort to deprive Russia of components it needs for high-end industry and advanced weapons, with the hopes of ensuring that President Putin feels the pain of his decision to invade Ukraine. That has forced makers of computers, chips and sensors to halt shipments to Russia.