NEW YORK, June 8. /TASS/. Microsoft has decided to substantially reduce its business in Russia due to the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported this on Wednesday, citing an official letter from the company.

"As a result of the changes to the economic outlook and the impact (of the situation in Ukraine - TASS) on our business in Russia, we have made the decision to significantly scale down our operations in Russia," the company said in an emailed statement.

The company noted that it will continue to fulfill its existing contractual obligations with Russian customers while the suspension of new sales remains in effect. It also promised to support more than 400 employees, who will be affected by the decision.

"We are working closely with impacted employees to ensure they are treated with respect and have our full support during this difficult time," Microsoft said in the statement.

In late March, Microsoft announced that it would not suspend cooperation with customers from Russia, and would continue to work with Russian schools, hospitals and a number of other organizations.

"Depriving these institutions of software updates and services could put at risk the health and safety of innocent civilians, including children and the elderly," the company’s CEO Brad Smith said in March as cited by Reuters.

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the government commission on digital development to prepare proposals by August 1 to replace foreign digital solutions with Russian software products and work out measures to support domestic IT companies.