The U.S. service Docker Hub, widely used for developing software, has suspended its operations in Russia without giving advance notice to local users, according to media reports.

Russian users lost access to Docker Hub repositories on Thursday and couldn’t access the service even through virtual private networks (VPNs), reported Russian news website Kommersant.

Developers use the cloud-based platform to store, share and manage their container images — digital packages that include everything needed to run an application.

Docker Hub stated in a message displayed to those trying to access the platform from Russia that it is blocking services in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Russian-annexed Crimea to “adhere to U.S. export control rules.” Russia itself wasn’t included in the message.

At the time of publication, the platform’s operator, Docker Inc., hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

Russian legal expert Maria Udodova told Kommersant that the blocking could be linked to the new proposed rule introduced by the Department of Commerce in January to protect cloud services from foreign cyberthreats to national security. Recorded Future News couldn’t verify this claim.

In an interview with Russian media, several local tech businesses complained that due to the blocking, they cannot upload or save their projects from the repository. They said that Docker Hub was popular among Russian companies involved in cybersecurity.

Following the service suspension, Russian developers took to the Docker Hub forum and Reddit to voice their complaints.

“It’s not me who invaded Ukraine, it’s not millions of developers and software engineers either, but we have to suffer the consequences. Thanks a lot, Docker!” one user said on Reddit.

“Please consider keeping Docker Hub available for Russians — they’re oppressed by their own government they didn’t choose. The regime will have access to any technology anyway, and have resources to keep their infrastructure running,” another user wrote on the Docker community forum.

Industry experts admitted to Kommersant that Docker Hub restrictions could deal a blow to tech businesses, which now have to quickly find an alternative. This is not easy since other similar services, including GitHub, suspended some of their services in Russia when it invaded Ukraine.

In 2022, Docker said in a statement that the company “stands with Ukraine” and will not do business with Russian and Belarusian businesses or accept payments from these locations during the war.

The company also said that it removed the ability to purchase and renew Docker subscriptions from Russia and Belarus.

Slow exits

The fact that Docker Hub was still generally available in Russia until this week, despite the company’s previous statements, isn’t unusual. 

With the start of the war in Ukraine two years ago, many Western tech firms announced that they would quit the Russian market or suspend selling their products there — either for moral reasons or due to economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU or the U.S.

Big tech companies that served many clients in Russia didn’t exit the market immediately. Only this August, Microsoft, for example, announced that it would stop renewing licenses for its products to Russian companies and would not process payments via wire transfer to local bank accounts.

In March, Russians received a notification from Microsoft saying that it would suspend access to its cloud services for local users as a result of European sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier in January, Czech antivirus developer Avast suspended selling its software in Russia. In the initial months of the war, the company announced that it would stop renewing licenses for its products for Russian and Belarusian users.

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