Airbnb has officially stopped all operations in Russia and Belarus in a new company policy effective from April 4

The choice of the company to pull operations in Russia and Ukraine is in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Individuals wanting to travel to the two countries will no longer be able to book stays with Airbnb.

Russian and Belarusian residents are also barred from booking accommodation at other Airbnb listings.

Brian Chesky, the co-founder and chief executive of Airbnb, added the Ukrainian flag to his Twitter profile and tweeted about the suspension.

All reservations made after today have been cancelled, with the policy announced following Russia’s takeover of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant a month ago.

Airbnb is also offering short-term housing solutions to those fleeing Ukraine in Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Russia has more than 93,000 listings on Airbnb and Belarus almost 4,000, according to AirDNA.

Airbnb joins a list of companies that are pausing operations in Russia, including Ikea, Apple, Netflix, H&M, Burberry, BMW, Mercedes-Ben and many others.

Amanda Gunn contributed to this report