The Ukrainian leader who is pushing Silicon Valley to stand up to Russia
Six months ago, Mykhailo Fedorov, one of Ukraine's deputy prime ministers, made a pilgrimage to Silicon Valley to discuss his country's digital transformation. On Facebook, he posted a photo of himself arm-in-arm with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Palo Alto, Calif., praising him as the "most efficient manager in the world." On Tuesday, Fedorov had a less effusive message for Cook: Block App Store access in Russia. As Russian missiles rain down on Ukraine, Fedorov has launched his own pressure campaign, tweeting at some of the world's most powerful tech companies to take action to shut down Russian propaganda and disconnect Russia from the rest of the world. In the process, he has become the chief agitator of an industry that has long been reluctant to bend to political demands in any country or conflict, and he's done it without enacting laws or using economic leverage. According to his deputy minister, Alex Bornyakov, Fedorov has pressed about 50 companies for aid wh...