Google announced this week that its Google Apps services would no longer available to Crimean-registered accounts. In a letter written to users, the company noted that "we are obliged to comply with the recently adopted international sanctions, and users will not be able to access Google Apps from inside Crimea from January 31, 2015. Since access to Google for accounts located in Crimea will be suspended, we strongly recommend that you export your data prior to January 31."
The announcement follows news from earlier in the week that Google AdSense would block Crimean customers' accounts beginning January 23.
As a result of the company's decision, Crimean business owners have noted their intention to switch to other Russian internet firms, including Yandex and Mail.ru. For instance, the director of the Yalta-based interior design firm Bell'Arte told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that "we will be transferring our client base to Yandex and will be using their services [in future]."
Earlier, US companies PayPal, Apple, Visa and MasterCard also announced their intentions to join in on the newest round of sanctions, announced last December. The sanctions have demanded that US companies stop providing a range of products and services to Crimea by February 1, 2015.
