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Around the world, Airbnb is a top-tier travel app. Many travelers find Airbnb to be of better service to them than hotels, motels, and hostels.

Over the years, Airbnb has grown in popularity, especially with the rise of remote work. People using Airbnb can book short-term stays or even long-term stays ranging from one month to beyond.

On the Airbnb platform, travelers who book monthly stays even get the added benefit of discounts.

However, while Airbnb remains used around the world, recent events in Europe have led to some changes. In real time, the people of Ukraine remain subjected to brutal murders, rapes, torture, and other war crimes from Russian soldiers.

In light of Russia's continuous warfare against the nation of Ukraine, Airbnb has banned both Russia and its ally Belarus from using the app.

No more Airbnb for anyone in Russia or Belarus

Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky publicly announced the company's decision to prohibit its service from being used in Russia or Belarus.

In making this announcement, Chesky also pointed out that tons of Ukraine-based Airbnb listings are getting booked. Many of these bookings are coming from people who don't plan to stay at these listings, but simply want to help Ukrainians in any way possible.

Due to the Airbnb bans in Russia and Belarus, people from these countries won't be able to rent out their property or even book property as guests.

In a nutshell, any and all Airbnb operations in Russia and Belarus are done, effective immediately. At this time, the Airbnb co-founder has not provided a date for a lifting of the ban.

However, Chesky did note the company's interest in seeing "a path to peace" in these two nations.

Hard times for people in Russia and Belarus

Although it might not make the news as frequently as the horrors in Ukraine, there are many people in both Russia and Belarus who do not support the ongoing war.

For a while, many Russian citizens protested against the Ukraine war; then, Putin passed a decree saying that anyone opposing his war crimes in Ukraine will face 15 years in jail.

Between sanctions against the Russian government (which have greatly devalued its currency) and businesses completely cutting ties with the country, innocent civilians on both sides remain caught in the crossfire.