Ericsson said it had stopped selling hardware to Russia, only supported by software.

CTOnews.com, September 23 (Reuters)-Ericsson said on Friday that since the conflict broke out in Russia and Ukraine, Ericsson only provided software and technical support to Russian customers and did not sell any telecommunications equipment to mobile operators, after Swedish media reported that the company continued to export hardware. The company's shares fell 4.6 per cent in morning trading.

Ericsson suspended operations in Russia in April and said in August that it would withdraw from the country in the coming months. It recorded fees of 900 million Swedish kronor (about 573 million yuan) and laid off 400 people in the country because of the closure of the business.

"in order to comply with the sanctions, we provide software and technical assistance to products shipped before the conflict to enable us to meet our contractual obligations," a spokesman said. "

"when sanctions were announced, we stopped shipping to Russian customers," he said.

CTOnews.com has learned that rival Nokia has also announced plans to withdraw from Russia by the end of the year and has said it has limited maintenance of critical networks to meet its contracts and humanitarian obligations.

Sveriges Radio Ekot reported that Ericsson has applied for 12 exemption licenses from the Swedish Bureau of Strategic Product Inspection and obtained seven.

The Swedish authorities' sanctions list includes telecommunications-related software and technology. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ericsson said the licenses were used for software and technical assistance.

"even if the mobile phone is for civilian use, an export license is required, mainly because of the advanced encryption technology embedded in our products, which applies to all countries," he said.

"Ericsson's products are designed for civilian use, not for military use."

"following Dell, Ericsson announced that it would stop operating in Russia."