Russian residents have fewer and fewer chances to go to another country. First, the EU announced the termination of the agreement with Russia on a simplified visa regime. And then it became known that Germany had stopped supplying chips for Russian passports.
The firm in question was Infineon Technologies AG, which, as it turned out, has not been supplying its products to Russia since late February. Officially this became known only now when representatives of the company confirmed the fact of suspension of supplies. The company's products are no longer imported into Russia either directly or indirectly, Infineon told Deutsche Welle. In addition, the chip maker has decided to cease cooperation with another country - Belarus. Chips are no longer shipped there as well. Infineon representative Diana Kaaserer told DW that the company's office in Russia had been liquidated.
Meanwhile, another Infineon representative, Constanze Hufenbecher, said back in June that by terminating cooperation with Moscow Infineon expresses its attitude towards the Russian aggression in Ukraine. According to Hufenbecher, who heads the digital transformation department, it is also a way to show solidarity with the residents of Ukraine. Infineon admires Ukrainians who fearlessly defend their freedom. They also hope that the violence and grief will soon stop.
Reports of problems with the issuance of biometric passports to Russians caused great excitement among residents of the Russian Federation. Despite the official version of the reformatting of the electronic medium, rumors of problems with the chips immediately appeared in society. This rumor was partially confirmed by the media. However, the Foreign Ministry tried to suppress panic, stating only "technical" nuances. According to official representative of the Ministry Maria Zakharova the problem with the ten-year old passports is temporary. it is worth mentioning that the passports of the "old" type, valid for five years, are normally issued to Russians. However, now the Russian citizens will have to wait for a visa to enter the EU countries for six months.
