“In protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Avast stopped all business activity in Russia and Belarus. This meant, among other things, that Russia would lose about $2.5 million (57.2 million crowns) in taxes on the sale of our products, otherwise, this money could theoretically be used to finance war. And we don’t want that,” Vlček said on Twitter on Friday night.

He stressed that the Czech company is trying to help in Ukraine, where all users can now get Avast’s premium products completely free of charge. Antivirus companies thus want to contribute “to the digital protection of Ukrainian users”.

Avast and its employees also jointly donated $800,000 to humanitarian organizations helping Ukraine, which is over 18.3 million crowns.

Anti-virus company Eset also pulled out of Russia and Belarus this week. “The decision to stop selling new products affects domestic users, companies and large organizations. The sale of products to government agencies was banned in 2016, when the Russian government introduced tax and certification laws and regulations that benefit local suppliers,” said Lucie Mudráková of the branch Eset in Czech.

Therefore, Eset will keep previously purchased licenses valid, but once they expire, new people can no longer purchase them.

In addition, Eset created a special fund to support Ukrainian citizens, so far 500 thousand euros (12.6 million crowns) have been invested in it. The money will be donated to the Integra Foundation and UNICEF.

The number chosen is likely to grow, as antivirus companies also want to include volunteers among their employees. “They also get full support from Eset if they want to volunteer for humanitarian activities. The company gives them space for these activities in their working hours,” added Mudráková.

Apple, Eset, Microsoft, Samsung, Dell, Nokia and Panasonic have withdrawn from Russia due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine.