Nokia to leave Russia, says CEO

Withdrawal is a very complicated operation. He said that it required careful planning because we had to take into account the safety of our employees.

Nokia has suspended deliveries, stopped new business and started its limited research and development activities out of Russia over the past few weeks, according to a press release.

We can now announce we will leave the Russian market, it said.

The Western governments have expressed concern about the humanitarian consequences of an uncontrolled exit from the market, citing the risk of failures in critical telecommunications infrastructure and the importance of ensuring information and outside perspectives continue to find their way to Russia.

As we exit we will want to provide the necessary support to maintain the networks and are applying for the necessary licences to be able to support this support in compliance with current sanctions, according to the press release.

Nokia has estimated that the exit will have no impact on its ability to achieve the financial guidance it provided for this year in February. Russia accounted for less than two per cent of the company's net sales of around 22 billion euros in 2021.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, the network equipment maker employs around 2,000 people in Russia.