By Chris Donkin

Nokia revealed it would exit the Russian market having already suspended deliveries and started moving R&D out of the country, though as it leaves it aims to continue supporting maintenance of existing kit on humanitarian grounds.

In a stock market notice issued a day after rival Ericsson announced it would suspend its activities in Russia indefinitely, Nokia stated it had been clear “since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine that continuing our presence in Russia would not be possible”.

However, Nokia played down the impact of the move on its financial projections, despite revealing it would book a related provision of around €100 million(US$108.4million) in its forthcoming Q1 figures.

Nokia added Russia had accounted for less than 2 per cent of its net sales in 2021 and expected activities elsewhere to allow it to achieve its existing 2022 financial outlook.

Humanitarian effort

Although exiting, Nokia intends to apply for licences compliant with sanctions to allow it to support the maintenance of existing network equipment. It did not specify how long it intended to provide this.

“Western governments have expressed concerns about the risk of critical telecommunication network infrastructure in Russia failing,” it explained. “They have also emphasised the importance of ensuring the continued flow of information and access to the internet which provides outside perspectives to the Russian people.”https://www.mobileworldlive.com