Ukraine official urges digital blockade of Russia, saying country uses money "to kill civilian people"
A Ukrainian official is urging tech companies to join a growing list of businesses pulling out of Russia in response to that country's brutal invasion of its neighbor.
Alex Bornyakov, who is Ukraine's deputy minister of digital transformation, joined "CBS Mornings" on Monday to discuss his campaign for a "digital blockade" of Russia.
"We realized that we can't stop this Russian war machine because it's so big, it's so many troops. So we decided to fight on the economic and digital front," he said.
As digital warriors inside Ukraine and beyond fight to isolate Russia, more than 400 companies have stopped doing business there since Russian troops invaded Ukraine nearly a month ago. Ukrainian leaders are now pressing major tech companies to block services in Russia. Apple, Google and Microsoft have already done that.
Bornyakov said governments and businesses need to stop the flow of money into Russia because the Kremlin spends it "not to develop their infrastructure, not to build schools, not to build hospitals, not to build roads," but "to invade" other countries.
"They spend it to kill civilian people, to fund the war machine, to fund their propaganda machine, and they use this government money not for the good of Russian people. They use it for aggression and create a threat for the whole world," Bornyakov said.
"You can't support this regime with your money, even if you're a private institution," he said. "You have to be aware of the morality of those actions today. Of course it's about Ukraine, but it's not just about Ukraine, it's about showing the aggressor that those actions are unacceptable in the 21st century."