What if they could meet the regulations without it costing too much and without exposing them to risk of compromising privacy and security? I don't see why you find it disappointing that they checked to see if that was the case rather than immediately pulling out.

I thought this too. On the other hand, it does make sense to them to publicly claim that the reason they moved out was for technical rather than political reasons. It might not make themselves a highly attractive target for a retaliatory DDoS attack.

> why should Fastmail expose itself any further

Expose to what exactly? Sanctions, neural-gas attacks or nuclear weapons? Does Russia have any legal or technical levers which could potentially harm Fastmail business?

I mean, I legitimately wouldn't be surprised if they took political prisoners if Fastmail showed up to court to fight, or hammer out an agreement. Let alone what they would end up having to submit to while operating within the country. Russia is known to be pretty hostile towards the west.