Asian Tech Press (Mar. 10) -- Two Japanese gaming giants Nintendo and Sony's PlayStation have suspended shipments to Russia, joining the U.S.-led sanctions against the country.

PlayStation tweeted a statement Thursday, saying Sony has "suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of Gran Turismo 7 and operations of the PlayStation Store in Russia."

The statement could be seen as a response to a request last week from Ukraine's vice prime minister, who urged all gaming companies to block Russia and Belarus accounts, and also singled out Sony's gaming brand PlayStation.

In addition to following up sanctions against Russia, Sony also announced a $2 million donation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international NGO, Save the Children, to aid victims of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Nintendo made the decision to stop shipments to Russia Wednesday night, citing logistical and payment processing challenges, Bloomberg reported.

The company has switched its Russian eShop to maintenance mode after it was unable to process payments in rubles.