Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, announced on Thursday that it had ceased selling internet advertising in Russia, a move that affects search, YouTube, and third-party publishers.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the world's leading seller of online ads by revenue took a similar hold in Russia, as did Snap Inc and Twitter.
"We're stopping Google ads in Russia due to unprecedented circumstances," the company said in a statement.
"The situation is rapidly changing, and we will continue to provide updates as needed," the company added.
Google had previously prohibited Russian state-funded media from using its technology to acquire or sell ads.
It had also cited its sensitive events policy, which prohibits marketing that aims to profit from the war, with the exception of anti-war or protest advertisements.
In a blog post, Kent Walker, Google's VP of global affairs, wrote, "This builds on our indefinite stop of monetization of Russian state-funded media across our platforms, meaning media outlets like RT are not able to monetize their content or advertise on our platforms."
On Monday, Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, ordered Google to stop running ads that contained false information regarding Russian military and civilian losses in Ukraine.
Roskomnadzor, the state communications regulator, said it had issued a letter to Google demanding the removal of the illegal items and that it would ban internet services that disseminate such information.
As Russian missiles rain down on Ukrainian cities, Moscow has stepped up attempts to dominate the narrative in the news media and on social media platforms.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the regulator instructed Google on Thursday to stop distributing YouTube ads with "false political information" about Ukraine in order to "misinform the Russian public" about current events.
More firms are terminating business and partnerships with Russian organizations and individuals as public outrage builds and more countries issue sanctions against Russia as a result of its aggressive invasion of Ukraine.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Twitter and Snap have also halted ad sales in Russia and surrounding regions.
Snap stopped selling to "Russian and Belarusian companies" earlier this week, but stated the change will have no effect on Snap's operations because the app is still available in those countries.
In the past, Moscow has punished or blocked access to services that do not comply with its demands.
Last year, Google was fined more than 32 million roubles for content offenses.
According to the SPARK business database, Google's turnover in Russia in 2020 will be 85.5 billion roubles ($790 million).
